Hope for the Lonely
by FraGmenTd
Summary: Krystal finally finds a Cerinian boy to call her own. It's just not who we all expected... The end is nigh! Chapter 6 is done. DING! Please R&R as always. [COMPLETE]
1. Prologue

**Hope for the Lonely**

**By FraGmenTd**

**Disclaimer: Starfox and all related characters are copyright Nintendo. The Matrix is copyright Warner Bros.**

**Prologue**

_Everything that has a beginning has an end. –_The Matrix

Cerinia. A beautiful planet on the fringe of the Lylat star system. It was once populated by a remarkable species of sentient beings. They were humanoid vulpines, very similar to the residents of Corneria of the same species. But a couple of things were very different about them. Most noticeably, they had light blue fur covering most of their bodies, and an almost white blue fur covering the front of their bodies, from their cheeks to their thighs. They also had white fur in their ears, and on the tips of their tails. They were people of unrivaled beauty, as was their planet. But they were not always this way. Once, they were ordinary settlers from Lylat, seeking a home isolated from the overpopulated system. They sought spiritual enlightenment, peace and tranquility. Soon, they laid eyes on Cerinia, and there they stayed for hundreds of years.

Soon, after arriving, something happened that changed all of them in a way that, at first, was frightening, but soon was deemed favorable. The Cerinians began to gain latent psychic abilities. And their bodies changed as well, into what we now recognize as their most visually appealing trait. The Cerinian scientists began doing their own research, and found that energy native to the planet, had begun to alter their genetic structure. Further research soon proved that this process began to purify their genetic lines as well, removing impurities that were known to cause illnesses and ailments of many kinds. The Cerinian scientists found that this energy, which the more spiritually inclined called simply, "The Spirit of Cerinia", manifested itself in physical forms as well. Mystical gems were found to contain this energy in large amounts, and they were extremely abundant on the planet. It wasn't long before they realized that this energy was fueling their psychic powers, and they began constructing devices that were designed to use this energy. Engineers and craftsmen built staffs, rods of metal highly decorated with tribal-like emblems, which were made to specifically make use of the crystals that generated the Spirit of Cerinia. Understandably, training was necessary to teach the commoners how to use the staffs for many things, but mostly, they were designed as a form of meditation. The staffs were primarily designed to siphon the energy from the crystals and the environment, and channel it into the users, who believed that the crystals empowered them, which they did. Ministers were appointed by the government to build shrines and temples to the largest of the Spirit Crystals. These would be public meditation places, where those who felt a need could bathe in the warming light of the crystals.

Not long after these staffs and temples were being widely used, strange mutations began to form in the Cerinian gene pool. Tattoo-like markings were seen on many of the newer generations. These markings resembled emblems, which were very fascinating to the Cerinian scientists and ministers. They were symmetrical in all cases, two identical markings on exactly opposite sides of the subjects' bodies. Sometimes, these markings would be in multiple places on the bodies. Strangely, these markings appeared to be in recognizable shapes. Spirals, lines that appeared to almost be writing of some kind, circles, and other geometric shapes that appeared too organized to be accidental mutations. Stranger still, subjects with particular markings seemed to be genetically predisposed to certain behavioral traits. Those who would grow up to be great leaders would often have the same markings. Eventually career tracks for those with the markings were becoming very predictable, and tables of the different symbolic markings were recorded. Eventually, a new form of government rose from these "blessings" from the Spirit of Cerinia. It was viewed that since so many people were following the paths that their markings determined based on others in the past, the future leaders of government, as well as all other occupations in life, were being chosen for their rolls upon birth. Of course, not all of those chosen would fill their rolls, as there are always exceptions, so the Cerinians as one people decided that no one would be forced into their predetermines lines of work. Likewise were those that were born with no markings. Many of them still existed, and they simply chose their lives with no pressure from anyone to make any particular decision.

Soon, though, as those being born with the sacred markings were more numerous, for those picked for important rolls, (like the heads of the government council, the King and Queen), rites of passage were devised to pick the best candidates of those born with the same markings. The markings of the Princes or Princesses were chosen based on the table of information recorded on the relations of certain markings to character traits, which came to be known as the Book of Sacred Emblems. Many individuals could be born, conceivably, with the same markings of a Prince or Princess, for example. For those rolls, only one could be chosen from many. The rites were designed for individuals of 12 years of age, and they were based on many skills, including Strength, Courage, Observation, and Problem Solving, traits that would be very useful to have in the leader of a government. The balance of the tests in mind and body were important, so as not to discriminate against gender, which had advantages and disadvantages inherent to those genders in those areas.

With their need for spiritual enlightenment, came the desire to create many things. Art, both visually, and musically, was encouraged by everyone, and embraced by everyone. The Cerinians enjoyed life to the fullest. Somewhere along the line, even, they developed a trait in their culture that many offworlders found strange: the seeming lack of interest in significant amounts of clothing. They believed that they were born naked for a reason, and that they should not be afraid of each other exposed. Besides, as they saw it, their fur covered adequately everything that needed to be, and only wore clothing for decoration, or when their natural adaptations we insufficient.

This was the final development in the Cerinian culture. For a long time, people existed in this modern age in peace. Then, suddenly, everything changed.

Unfortunately, peace was not meant to last on a world that had so much to offer its inhabitants. Eventually others who had not been so blessed stumbled across Cerinia, and became obsessed with their technology and mystical powers, demanding the peaceful natives to show them the sources of their power. When they refused, conflict broke out. The Cerinians held rather well against minor, unorganized threats. They soon discovered that their staffs were very effective as weapons, both in melee situations, and as projectile weapons. The full extent of the staffs' abilities was still not known, but the Cerinians became exceedingly skilled with them, especially when used with their psychic powers.

But soon more organized threats appeared. They captured many Cerinians, experimenting on them in sometimes horrible ways, to find the source of their powers. Frustrated by complete failure at every attempt, this hostile race gave up playing with the captured vulpines, and decided to be more drastic. They annihilated the beautiful Cerinian homeworld, reducing it to mere dust, and then vanished into the shadows, never to be seen or heard from again, since almost every Cerinian had been captured or killed in the destruction of the planet.

Almost.


	2. Chapter 1 Stage Set

Chapter 1 - Stage Set 

_Tricky: Yeah, yeah! Then you and Krystal can come back on your honeymoon!_

_Fox: What?_-Starfox Assault

Meet Krystal. Compassionate, caring young vixen with a head full of questions. Not only was she Cerinia's last princess, she was Cerinia's last surviving resident. Being the last member of your species, understandably, would leave one rather lonely. But Krystal's strong points didn't end with simply surviving the destruction of her homeworld, and the emotional turmoil that must have followed. She was still going strong. With an unshakable will, and an open mind, she seemed to be a perfect individual. She hated violence, but fought well when she had to. A peaceful warrior. Sometimes much the opposite of her closest companion. No not her staff...

Enter Fox McCloud. Hot temper on a sensitive trigger, he was resilient to some things, and pathetically vulnerable to others. Not a peaceful warrior, the orange vulpine was anything but reserved. Except around women. Fox was a very shy individual when his shell was gone. And his shell was his high-performance spacecraft, the Arwing. Without it, he was very reserved, except around his friends. Fox had not had an easy life. But instead of letting the tragedies of his mother's and father's deaths slow him down, Fox used his pain against his enemies. He did not believe in the concept of anger only being useful to one's opponent. But he had a soft side, too, and deep down, Fox McCloud was one to do the right thing, even if it cost him.

And the Cerinian princess was just what the doctor ordered for bringing that out of him.

Though he never would have admitted it to his friends, he cared for Krystal greatly. When he'd saved her life on Dinosaur Planet just a few short months before, he tried to play it off like he only did it because it was part of the job. But everyone knew better, and just decided to give the lovestruck vulpine the benefit of the doubt. When he asked Krystal to stay with them while they went back to Corneria, only one really expected something more to come of it.

Peppy Hare had been Fox's caretaker and mentor for as long as Fox could remember. He had been there before Fox had been born. He babysat when the McCloud's needed it, he'd been James' best friend when Fox's mother was killed, and he made a promise to his friend that he would take care of Fox if anything happened to him. So here he was. He'd had a glimmer of a thought in his head about Fox's feelings for Krystal when Fox asked her to come with them as the team prepared to take their mothership Great Fox in for repairs at Corneria. But Peppy shrugged it off soon after, convinced that the princess had other things on her mind that were more important to her than Fox.

He'd only been half-right. Krystal soon witnessed firsthand the power of the Great Fox, as well as the Arwings when Fox took her out for a ride in Corneria's orbit. She realized that Fox liked her, and that she liked him back. She also realized that with the power of Great Fox, she would be able to find the answers she was searching for much more easily than with her aging transport ship. So she asked Fox if she could join his team.

"I don't know," he'd said uneasily. "It's really dangerous, and I don't know that I want you to get hurt."

She'd protested that she was in more danger on her own, and Fox considered her offer, even though deep down, he wanted her to stay. Both because Peppy was getting too old to fly anymore, and therefore needed to be replaced on the flight list, and also because Fox knew this was a good opportunity to get close to the vixen, since he enjoyed her company, and drowned in her large blue eyes whenever he gazed at them. Fox had just been glad Krystal had asked, and not himself. His team would have really landed on him if he had. He wasn't sure about her feelings for him, but he hoped they were the same as his.

As Great Fox launched out into the void once again, the team, now plus one, was ready for their next assignment. They knew it would be awhile before General Pepper called them, but they needed to get used to being in space again anyway.

One morning, several days after launching, Fox walked briskly down the hall to Krystal's quarters. He was coming to remind her of breakfast, which Peppy had been working on for some time. He pressed a small button on the control panel next to the door, and a second later heard Krystal's soft voice. "Come in."

Fox proceeded forward, looking down slightly, thinking how beautiful her voice sounded, as the door swished silently open. When he looked up, he was greeted by Krystal's back, which was completely devoid of clothing, but only for a second, as she pulled a blue T-shirt on over her head. Fox glanced around her room, trying not to stare, and saw her completely exposed front on accident in a full-length mirror against one wall. He quickly caught himself, looking away. _Come on, jackass! You're not that disrespectful! _Hecursed at himself.

Krystal apparently wasn't aware that Fox had come in. "Fox? Are you- oh!" she said surprised as she turned around. She smiled. "Didn't hear you come in." She saw his face. "Hey, are you okay? You look like you saw a ghost."

"Angel, actually," Fox said, trying not to blush. He pointed at the mirror, incriminating himself.

Krystal looked confused. Then she looked at where Fox was pointing, and realized that from his viewpoint, he could have seen much more of her than her back. She turned back to him, smiling, with wide eyes. "Oh. An angel, hmm?"

Fox squirmed nervously under her gaze. "Uh, yeah."

She giggled, walking toward him. "Silly! Like I care!" She hugged him, and kissed him on the cheek. "I think it's pretty obvious to both of us that we're more than friends. Wouldn't you agree, love?" She kissed him on the lips this time. She looked up at him with her big blue swimming pools for eyes. The love for him those eyes showed was more real than he would ever know.

Fox smiled, and kissed her on the forehead, right where her little tiara normally hung. "Yeah." He ran his paws through her hair.

They pulled away a little. "So did you come here to tell me something?" She grinned, eyeing him suspiciously. "Or did you come here to watch me dress?"

Fox smiled. "No, I actually came to tell you that breakfast is ready." Suddenly his stomach growled.

Krystal laughed. "Maybe you should have told your stomach first! But I am kind of hungry, and Peppy's food is too good to miss out on. Let's go." They left Krystal's room, paw in paw.

When they got to the small mess hall, the team was already eating. Falco was the first to open his beak.

"Yo, Fox! No public displays of affection! Some of us are trying to eat, here!"

"Aw, can it, Falco! Leave them alone!" Slippy retorted.

"Who's gonna make me, froggie?"

Peppy groaned, not wanting to start mediating disputes already. "Be quiet, you two!" He spoke in a calmer voice, though still strained, to Fox and Krystal. "Good morning, you guys. Sleep okay?"

Fox and Krystal nodded. "Something tells me you didn't though, Peppy, " Fox said, seating Krystal before sitting himself.

Peppy scoffed. "That's an understatement. Didn't get a wink. I should have gotten a better mattress before we left, my back is killing me."

Slippy looked concerned. "I thought my machine helped with that, Peppy." He was referring to an infrared generator he built that was designed to relax and heal muscles.

Peppy shook his head. "Only a temporary solution, Slip." Slippy looked discouraged.

Fox tried to brighten the mood with conversation. "So, any word from Pepper?" he said taking a bite of his food.

Falco shook his head. "Not a peep. You know, he _told _us when we were docked that he would have something a few days after we left. It's been over a week! I bet he forgot about us again!"

Despite Falco being so blunt about it, the rest had to agree with him. "We need something to do out here," Fox said. "We're going to be sitting around with nothing to do, and we're all going to go insane." Everyone nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, their prayers were answered.

"Fox, I have detected strange energy readings on our long range sensors," ROB's metallic monotone voice echoed over the PA system.

"What kind of readings?" Fox asked, suddenly interested.

"They appear to be identical to the readings detected emanating from the staff brought on board by Krystal when she arrived."

Krystal's ears perked up. "What are the source of the readings, ROB?"

"Unknown. It is impossible to tell from this distance. Closer observation is required."

"What's the location?" Fox said, trying to contain his excitement that they may have just stumbled on proof that Krystal wasn't the only Cerinian left.

"It is very close to the last known coordinates of the Cerinian homeworld."

Krystal stopped breathing. So many things ran through her mind. Fox echoed her foremost thought.

"Is it a ship?" Fox was going to fall out of his chair.

"Unknown. Closer observation required," ROB repeated expressionlessly.

Krystal started breathing again.

Fox got up, as did the rest of the team. "Take us close enough to tell. We're heading up there now."

"Understood," ROB acknowledged.


	3. Chapter 2 Discovery

Disclaimer: Starfox isn't mine. It's nintendo's. "Out There" is copyright Fuzzbubble.

Chapter 2 – Discovery

_Are you out there on some Devil ship from Mars?  
And if you're out there, show your gleaming face  
I know you're out there, breaking someone's spirit  
And when you're done there, I'll be here _

Fuzzbubble, "Out There"

The team headed for the main deck as quickly as they could. Fox took immediate control when they got there. ROB echoed his first thought before Fox could open his mouth.

"We are approaching the position of the planetary debris."

Fox walked slowly toward the main vid screen. "Put it up on the main screen, ROB."

ROB obeyed. Suddenly the view filled with the black of space, cluttered with dust and shimmering debris. Larger chunks drifted around as well. Krystal's eyes filled with tears, but no one paid attention, much to her relief. She hadn't been back here since her world was destroyed. Krystal wiped her tears away just before Fox turned and looked at her. She hadn't appeared to move, but Fox could see the fur around her eyes was darker. He knew she'd been crying. He wasn't sure what to do. Should he invite her to where he was and comfort her? Or would she rather stay where she was? Out of everyone's view. If she came down to him, she might start crying again. But Fox decided that if anyone commented on her being upset in a negative way, he had the authority to set them straight. "Wanna come over here, Krystal?" He tried to sound as unimposing as he could.

Much to his surprise, she nodded, and slowly walked to the lower part of the floor. She stood next to him, but didn't touch him. "I only saw it like this once. When I saw it rip itself apart so many years ago. I never thought I would see it again.

ROB's harsh metallic voice shattered the somber mood of the room. "I have discovered the source of the energy. However, I cannot pinpoint a specific location. It is simply everywhere in the sector of space directly in front of us."

Fox was going to say something else, but ROB interrupted with more information.

"There appears to be a few more isolated areas with greater concentrations of energy."

Fox spoke before he was interrupted again. "Show us."

ROB added to the image in front of them the data he had found. A vertical bar appeared on the right side, going from red, to yellow, to green, to blue, and then white. The rest of the screen flooded with colors, indicating the intensity of the energy. Most of their view was red, in large sheets throughout the debris. But there were, as ROB indicated, some smaller areas where the red was gone from around it, and a more intense energy sat in the middle. Most of them were yellow and green, a few were blue...

And one that was further away, surrounded by no red at all. It was bright white.

"There," Krystal pointed at the large white light as soon as she knew what she was looking at. "What about that one?"

ROB scanned it. "It is producing extreme amounts of energy."

"Wow!" Slippy said, reading the colored scale on the side of the screen. "It's putting out more energy than I've ever seen from something so small!"

"How much energy, Slippy?" Fox asked.

"Enough to power this ship all by itself for a long time. That is, if it ever drains."

"How big is that freakin' thing?" Falco squawked, not quite believing what Slippy had just said.

"It is approximately one foot in diameter," ROB answered.

Fox let out a low whistle. Then he turned to Krystal. "What do you know about these things, Krystal?"

She shook her head. "Not much useful, I'm afraid. My people used large crystals like that in the temples. They were for larger groups of people to meditate in front of. I did occasionally. But I do know they are capable of tremendous power."

"Is the energy harmful to non-Cerinians in large amounts like that?" Fox asked concerned.

Krystal shook her head. "I wouldn't think so. Our makeup is close enough, I don't think it would hurt Cornerians if it didn't hurt us."

"What could that do if it fell into the wrong hands?" Peppy suddenly spoke. "Could it be used to destroy?"

"We used the crystals for defense as well as meditation and power," Krystal explained. "But I don't think they could be used for anything by someone who didn't have the technology to siphon the energy. That's what my staff is. My ship is equipped with one too, for the energy core. Without some kind of siphon, they would be useless." She suddenly chuckled. "Unless you wanted to blind someone to death."

The team chuckled with her. Fox finally made a decision. "I would like to collect it. Study it up close. Maybe we could make it useful. If nothing else it could be used as a soccer ball." Fox glanced over at Krystal. "Uh, that is, if it's okay with you. That thing out there is technically yours."

"No, I think it would be a good idea. It would keep it from falling into the hands of someone who wanted to abuse it. Those kind of energy readings would make it very appealing to someone who wanted to build a weapon of unrivaled power." She smiled. "Besides, I could use my own meditation crystal."

Fox smiled. "Then it's settled. Falco, you can watch my back while I grab that thing. Slippy, get some scanning equipment ready in the hangar. Krystal, would you like to go?"

She cocked her head and smiled. "Wouldn't miss it. My ship or yours?"

Fox blushed, though you could hardly see it beneath his fur. "Whichever."

"Eh. I won't crowed you... this time," the last part she added in a particularly sly tone. Fox, Falco, Slippy and Krystal started toward the door.

"I'll keep an eye on things from here, Fox," Peppy called.

Fox turned and smiled at his mentor. "I'm sure you will, Peppy." He left with the others.

Falco entered the hangar first, eager for some action, followed by Krystal and then Fox. They all entered their respective ships, with Krystal taking an Arwing for herself. They all waited before launching, however, for Fox's command. They each powered up their craft. Fox's computer was designed to show the status of each of his teammates, and each of them read green. Fox was glad Slippy had added that little feature. The system was also designed to warn him if something went wrong with one of the other ships, as well.

"Report launch status," Fox said over the all-Arwing com circuit.

"Green," Falco reported. "I'm good to go, Fox."

"Systems check out. I'm ready, too." Krystal's voice betrayed her nervousness; she had only piloted the Arwing in simulators.

Fox smiled, knowing the feeling. _Was it really that long ago? _he asked himself. "Don't worry, Krystal. Just like the simulators. There's not a lot of dangerous debris out there, so you should be fine. You even trained for some combat situations. This'll be easy."

Krystal nodded, then realized Fox couldn't see her. But she forgot to acknowledge. Fox wasn't worried about it. They weren't going to come across anything.

"Okay, lets go get us a shiny rock," Fox said, hoping his confidence would ease Krystal's tension. He cruised out of the hangar, followed by Falco, and then Krystal.

"Peppy, this is Fox. How's it looking on the perimeter?"

"It looks okay," Peppy replied. "But the energy is starting to interfere with our sensors. Beyond what's immediately around us, the scans probably aren't that reliable."

"Great, so if there's trouble, we won't know until we're already fighting," Falco said, his voice oozing with his normal negative attitude.

"Nothing we can't handle, Falco. We've been in way worse situations," Fox was already getting tired of his teammate's pessimism.

Falco didn't get the hint. "Oh, I'm not worried about us. I'm worried about little girl blue over there getting her tail in the fire and calling for help in the middle of the fight, that's what I'm worried about."

Fox was getting ticked now. "Can it! Before I can you!"

"You can't can me, Fox. I'm the best pilot you got. You pull me, you pull your death certificate in a fight."

"Can you at least find it in that brain of yours to watch who you direct your attitude at? On this team, we respect each other. I know that's hard for you to do, sometimes, Falco, but you're gonna have to if you want to keep _your_ ass on the flight roster!"

"All right! All right! Sheesh! Release the dogs, for the love of crap! Sorry!"

Fox was going to say something else, but he decided not to, for Krystal's sake. _Aw, jeez, I'm such an ass..._ He switched to a private circuit, wanting to talk to Krystal alone. "Uh, I'm sorry about that. I... didn't mean to... scare you, or anything."

Krystal shook her head, then smiled a little. "I'm thankful you stuck up for me. His comment was a little... unexpected. One of these days, I'm going to have to hold my own against that attitude of his. I hadn't really even heard him."

"What's on your mind?"

"Oh, god, everything. My mind's a mess right now, Fox. So many memories, so many thoughts, emotions... If I have a nervous breakdown, don't be surprised."

Fox chuckled. "I hope you don't. You are still flying that ship. Hard to fly when you're having a nervous breakdown. At the very least, you couldn't get yourself home."

Krystal laughed. "You sneak! Pretending not to be concerned with your ship getting home! You're trying to be sweet!"

"Well what's wrong with that?"

"It's working!"

"Why is that such a bad thing?"

"It not professional to have a strong emotional attachment to one of your teammates. Especially a female!"

"Well, then I guess we're both unprofessional!"

Krystal snapped her fingers. "Damn. You caught me."

"What's to catch? You turned yourself in!"

Krystal laughed in disbelief. "I did not!"

Fox was laughing too. "Did too!"

"Nope."

"Yeah."

"Uh-uh!"

"Uh-huh!"

"Hmph!"

Fox shook his head, still laughing. "Just keep flying."

"Oh, I will."

"You'd better!"

Suddenly, Fox's alarm went off. He almost jumped out of his fur, not expecting anything to go wrong. His display showed that Falco's shield had taken damage. He quickly clicked over to Falco's com. "Hey Falco, my computer just informed me that your shields registered a hit. Can you confirm?"

"Yeah," Falco replied gruffly. "I got hit, alright. Don't know what by, yet, though. My computer didn't know what it was. Minor damage, though. Probably some debris, or something."

"Well, if it happens again-" Fox's computer beeped again. Falco's shield registered another hit. Fox started to say something.

"That was definitely a blaster shot!" Falco yelled. A few more struck his shield, rocking his ship. Then more slammed into Fox's shield. Fox and Falco broke formation.

"Peppy, this is Fox. We're under attack! I repeat, we are under attack!"

"I read you, Fox," Peppy said in a worried tone. "Dang, they just came out of nowhere! Sensors didn't pick them up until they started shooting. Sorry, guys."

"That's okay, Peppy. How many are there? I can't see them yet."

"I'm reading... 5 fighters. That's it. Not picking up anything else."

"Get out of range of the debris and scan again. This energy is messing things up, and we need early warning if anything bigger than a fighter comes in."

"Understood, Fox. Peppy out."

"Falco, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Can't see them, though. Damn it, where are they!"

"Krystal, what about you? You haven't been hit yet."

"I'm good, Fox. I see them. I'm coming around. There's one tailing you, and another on Falco. I'll take yours first."

Fox grinned. "Good thinking on your feet, Krystal. See, you can handle this!"

"Don't thank me yet. You've picked up another tail." Krystal lined up right behind Fox, preparing to take out Fox's followers. "I've locked on-" she fired. Her hot plasma beams cut through the smaller ships like they were nothing. Fox's ship jerked slightly as the ships behind him burst into flames.

"Thanks, Krystal. I owe you one."

"Nah, you can just kiss me later!"

Fox blushed. "Uh, sure." He went serious again, remembering that Falco was still being chased. "Hang on Falco, I'm coming."

Falco cursed. "Damn it, they're not very powerful, but the little bastards are sticking to me like glue! They're too freaking small! Can't get around them for a clear shot!" Then, suddenly the two ships exploded behind him.

"I'm reading one more, Fox," Krystal advised.

"I know." Fox replied. "I got him."

"Oh no you don't! He's mine, Fox!" Falco was not going to be outdone.

"We'll see about that, Falco!"

"Damn it, Fox, back off!"

"No way. He's mine!"

"Males..." Krystal muttered.

Fox and Falco's ships zeroed in on the last tiny fighter. They looked more like they were trying to sandwich the doomed craft, rather than shoot it.

"I'm gonna get it!"

"Not today, Fox!"

Just as it seemed the two were going to collide, Krystal came out of nowhere, her ship's blasters blazing. The shots ripped the craft to pieces before Fox and Falco could even get of any of their own. The two pulled away from each other at the last second, and neither of them could believe what had just happened.

"Oh, great! Krystal ruined it for both of us!"

"Dang it, Krystal! I had it!"

"No! I did!" Falco argued.

"The only thing you two had was each other. You were so caught up in that one little ship that you both ignored your proximity warnings! You could have killed yourselves!" Krystal was surprised to find herself scolding the two veterans.

"I think Krystal needs to be the new leader of our team!" Peppy laughed. "She's the only one of you who could keep a cool head!" Fox growled. How long had he been watching?

"I think so too, Peppy," Krystal agreed. "How about it, Fox? Star Vixen. It has a nice ring to it!"

Fox just growled again. Falco said nothing at all.

"So are you three going to just sit out there, or are you going to get what you came for?" Peppy asked in an amused tone.

"I'll get it," said Fox. "Unless Falco wants to."

Falco snorted. "Not unless I can blow it up!"

"Yeah, well you can't."

"Figures."

Fox proceeded toward the large crystal. "There it is," he said as the large gem filled his view. "Wow, it's smaller than I thought. But it is pretty." He opened the forward cargo hold. "Okay, easy now." He slowed his ship to a crawl, so as not to run into the precious object. Slowly, he eased the mouth of the hold over the crystal. Then his computer told him that the object was completely inside, and that it was safe to close the door. He did so. "Got it. Okay, let's go home and see what this thing's all about."

"Slippy says he's prepared the scanning equipment. He's ready to receive you," Peppy said. "Oh, and by the way, I found out what those little ships were about."

Fox had forgotten about them. "What did you find out?"

"They were part of an automated defense system in the area."

Falco was in disbelief. "You mean they were robots?"

"That's correct, Falco."

"Jeez! All that fuss over a few robots! Fox, did you get that? We made complete asses of ourselves over a freakin' robot!"

"What kind of defense system, Peppy? Anything we should be worried about?" Fox wondered why there would have been an automated defense system still active in a sector that was dead.

"I don't know," Peppy replied. "But whatever it was, it only had those five ships left. Their communication frequency was easy enough to find. I checked it just a few minutes ago. The system is offline now. It shut itself down when it ran out of ships. It's not going to be bothering us anymore."

"Well that's good. But it's... weird. Never heard of something like this happening. Maybe we should leave a probe here, just in case we get anymore unwanted visitors."

"Sounds like a good idea," Peppy agreed. "I'll tell Slippy to launch a probe. In the meantime, just get yourselves back in."

"Understood. Fox out."

The other members of the team followed Fox back to the Great Fox.

Slippy was waiting for them when they arrived. Fox hopped out of his ship first, and walked over to Slippy.

"Hi, Fox!" he said energetically. "I'm about to launch that probe you wanted, and then we'll take a look at this crystal you got." He walked over to a large control panel on the wall, entered a few commands, and a second later announced that the probe was away. The he went over to Fox's Arwing. "Let's see what we have here." Fox was trying to figure out why Slippy hadn't gotten into the cockpit yet.

"Hey, Slip, don't you have to be _in_ the ship to open the cargo hold?" he asked puzzled.

Slippy opened a panel on the underside of the ship, revealing a control panel. With a few commands, the cargo door opened. Slippy looked back at him and grinned.

Fox was surprised. _I thought I knew every part of my ship inside and out. I don't remember that thing being there. Shows how much _I _know._ Fox shook his head. "Sometimes, Slippy, you amaze me."

Falco and Krystal came up next to him beside Fox's Arwing.

"So what's the story, Fox? Can we use this thing?" Falco stood with his arms crossed in his normal badass composure.

"I hope so," Fox replied, not looking at Falco. He was focusing on the inside of the cargo hold. "You got it, Slip?"

"Yeah!" came the excited response. "Wow! This thing is really cool, Fox! You know, if we can't use it for anything to harness it's energy, this things would be really cool to have in the rec room or someplace where some decoration would be a nice idea. Heck, we could use it as a light source in itself for a big room. It would really pretty things up."

Fox laughed. "Slippy Toad: mechanic, technician, interior decorator." The others laughed with him, even Slippy. "I don't think that last thing was on your resume, Slip."

"Okay, here it comes," Slippy announced. The others watched as it seemed to get brighter inside the room. Finally, Slippy emerged with the crystal in his arms. The others were totally absorbed by it. It was the most beautiful thing to come on board, and Fox said so.

Krystal coughed unnecessarily loud.

Fox looked back at her. "Uh, except you, Krystal."

She eyed him with an icy stare.

"I think that crystal is prettier," Slippy said, tilting his head toward Krystal a few times.

Krystal smiled at him. "Why, thank you Slippy! See? Slippy has the right idea!" She patted Slippy on the head. "Flattery will get you everywhere in this world, Slippy, and don't let anyone try to tell you otherwise."

Slippy was blushing openly now, since he had no fur to hide it. "Aw, thanks, Krystal!"

"Slippy!" Fox snapped. "Scanner, there, now!" he pointed at the equipment Slippy had set up.

Slippy was slapped out of his trance. "Right away, boss!" He walked briskly over to the setup.

Fox glared at Krystal. "Don't go giving him ideas! He's been the most efficient member of this team because he doesn't show any interest in girls! Don't go changing his mind!"

Krystal inflated a false ego that would have made Falco feel crowded. "Well, it's not _my _fault he likes me" she glanced at her fingernails. "I have that effect on _all_ males. And it appears that even Slippy, the anti-girl, is powerless to my will!" She cackled evilly.

Fox looked somewhat unsettled when she laughed like that. It took him a second to regain himself. "Don't ever do that again. At first, I was convinced I was looking at your evil twin!"

She grinned evilly now. "How do you know you're not now?" She stalked toward him, forcing him into a corner. Fox bumped into the wall.

His voice came out shakily. "Uh, Krystal, you can STOP being your evil twin, now!"

"How can I stop being me?" she replied innocently, which didn't go very well with the evil look on her face.

Fox gulped audibly. "What do you want?"

Krystal laughed. "What do I want?" She quieted her voice. "I want YOU, Fox! To be my slave for the rest of your life!" The last part she practically hissed at him.

_Oh, god! What's she going to do to me? Slave? I don't want to be her slave! ...Then again..._ his thoughts were interrupted by Krystal practically crawling over him, touching him just about everywhere, making hushed moaning noises. _Oh, Jeez! Where's the pretty blue angel I know? She's in there somewhere! She's not like this at all! She's never like this!_

Krystal's muzzle was inches from his. "You know what else I want?"

Fox felt hot all over his body, like someone had set his innards on fire. "No." he said quickly.

"I want... I want..." she moaned. Suddenly the evil aura fell away, and she plastered a playful look on her face. "I want that kiss you owe me!"

Fox was totally shocked. "Huh?" Anything else he might have said would have been unable to leave his mouth, because it now had a good portion of Krystal's in it. Or more accurately, a good portion of Krystal's tongue.

Slippy was busily scanning the equipment, and since Falco had nothing better to do, he watched as Slippy ran all over the place getting things working. He hadn't pretended to be interested in all the techie stuff Slippy was babbling about; everyone knew he didn't know anything about that stuff, and he didn't try to hide it. But then he saw Fox and Krystal in the corner, and they seemed to be much more interested in each other than Slippy's babbling. Falco decided that what those two were doing wasn't really any more interesting that Slippy was. He also decided that it probably wasn't his business. So he just went back to staring at the junk around the hangar that Slippy had dragged out.

At that point, Peppy entered the hangar. The first thing he saw was that Fox wasn't anywhere in the open.

For that matter, neither was Krystal.

He sighed, knowing there were only a few possible things those two would be doing outside of other people's presence. Then he heard it. The unmistakable sound of kissing, just off to his right. He glanced over, and saw that Krystal had cornered Fox, but he didn't appear to mind that so much.

"Ah-HEM!" Peppy cleared his throat. Fox and Krystal whirled around to face the noise, which had been much closer than they had expected. "That's what your quarters are for, you two."

They broke away from each other. "Sorry, Peppy." Fox said, nervously scratching his ear.

Peppy sighed and shook his head. "You're going to miss Slippy's lecture. Might want to come check this out."

He started toward the setup Slippy had put together, smiling as he turned away. _Those two make me wish to all things holy that I were still young._ But he conceded; he had been their age at one point, and had his fun, same as they were.

Fox and Krystal followed him over to Falco and Slippy.

"There you are Fox! I have some stuff to show you, although it's not much more than we already know." Slippy finally slowed down enough to talk to someone coherently.

"What have you found?" Fox asked, trying to ignore having been caught with Krystal, by Peppy of all people.

"Well, Krystal was right about them having tremendous power," Slippy said. "And I think we can use it to improve the boosters on our Arwings. I would hesitate to use them to upgrade our weapons, because of how much they meant to Krystal's people as a symbol of peace. But using them to upgrade our engines would not be a violent use of them. I won't do any tinkering unless I have her permission, though. This thing is hers, as you pointed out." He glanced at her, as if asking her permission.

"I wouldn't mind it being used for the engines, Slippy," Krystal replied. "But like you said, I wouldn't like it to be used for weapons, unless it was absolutely necessary. My people only used them for weapons when they had to. But there's nothing wrong with making the ships faster, as far as I'm concerned."

"Can you do that, Slippy?" Fox asked.

"Yes and no. Adapting the boosters to make use of the crystal wouldn't be difficult. But we would need one for each ship, and we only have one. I would need to get others. They don't even need to be as big or powerful as this one."

Krystal spoke up. "Actually, this one could be broken into smaller pieces. My staff can do that."

Fox shook his head. "No, I don't want to do that. Not unless we have to. This was the only one out there that was that big. It's probably pretty rare for a chunk that big to have survived the planet's destruction. We could make use of the smaller ones just as easily. I would rather keep this one intact. Krystal can have it for meditation, like she said earlier. But if you think you can adapt our technology to use them, go ahead Slippy."

Slippy nodded. "Good idea. I kinda like this one the way it is, anyway. But we would have to get more."

"No problem. We can do that tomorrow. But right now, Krystal, if you would... woah." Fox almost fell over suddenly. Krystal caught him, and held him straight.

"What's wrong, Fox?" she asked worried.

Fox stumbled again. "I... don't know. I feel dizzy all of the sudden..." suddenly his weight pulled him down again, and Krystal set him gently on the ground.

"Fox! Are you okay! Fox!" She shook him a bit. Slippy scanned him.

"He's okay, he's just unconscious. I wonder what happened. Fox doesn't just faint like that."

Fox's breathing slowed down, and his body went completely limp. Krystal was really worried now. "Is he still alive? He feels weird!"

Slippy nodded. "He's fine. His vitals show the same as if he were in deep sleep. But his ears are twitching, so he still has use of his body. I think he just needs to rest."

Krystal gently picked him up. "I'll take him to his quarters." She left the hangar with Fox in her arms, whispering something to him.

Now Falco was concerned, and he shot an accusing finger at the large crystal on the table. "I bet that thing has something to do with it!"

Peppy shook his head. "I don't think so. We're all okay." He glared at Falco. "And don't even think of blaming it on my cooking! You all ate that, too, and you're all fine!"

Falco put up his hands in protest. "Hey, I wasn't gonna blame your cooking Peppy, okay? I just think it's a little weird that it happened when it did." Suddenly he got an idea. "Maybe Krystal did something to him!"

Slippy and Peppy were surprised at that. "That's ridiculous, Falco!" Slippy said angrily. "Why would Krystal hurt Fox?"

Falco shrugged. "I don't know, but it looked like she was up to something when she cornered Fox over there."

Peppy shook his head. "They were just kissing, Falco."

"Well, maybe that's what Krystal wanted us to think! She made it look like that, but I saw Fox's face before they started kissing, and he looked more freaked out than anything else!"

"They were just playing around, Falco!" Slippy retorted.

'That's not what it looked like to me!"

"Falco, I think you're just overreacting," Peppy said calmly.

"Hey, whatever," Falco said crossing his arms again. "You guys think what you want. I know what I saw, and I'm tellin' ya, that girl is up to something."

Peppy sighed, Slippy glared, but neither of them said anything more.

Krystal opened Fox's door, and walked inside, still thinking about what had happened. She didn't know why Fox had suddenly fainted. She hoped is wasn't her crystal. She had honestly thought that it wouldn't harm anyone. But if it had, she would have to do something about it.

She laid Fox down on his bed, stroking his headfur. She kissed him on the forehead. "Get well soon, Fox," she whispered. She shed a tear or two, hoping that he would be okay. She decided she would come and check on him later. She left his room with more questions plaguing her mind. She would figure this out on her own if she had to. She just hoped Fox wasn't hurt


	4. Chapter 3 Transformation

Disclaimer: I do not own starfox. Nintendo does. "Blue" belongs to A Perfect Circle

Chapter 3 – Transformation

_Call it aftermath she's turning blue_

_Such a lovely color for you_

_Call it aftermath she's turning blue_

_Such a perfect color for your eyes_

-A Perfect Circle, "Blue"

The next morning, Fox woke up, unable to tell where he was at first. His vision was blurred, and the absence of sound didn't help him, either. The first thing he noticed was he was on a bed. He rolled over and saw the blurry red of a digital clock. 1000 it read. Fox groaned. What time had he fallen asleep? And why couldn't he remember falling asleep at all? He hadn't been that tired, had he? He decided it didn't matter. All he cared about was getting to the bathroom to splash some cool water on his face; he wasn't going to find answers to his questions if he was only half awake...

He practically fell out of his bed, and stumbled over to his bathroom. What the hell had happened to him? He had a small headache, and his body felt weird, too. He felt lighter, like he had lost a lot of weight. His stomach growled. Maybe he felt light because he was hungry. But he'd just eaten. What time had he gotten up? He remembered his clock had read 0900 when he looked at it last, but then he'd gone out and eaten breakfast, and then... something about fighting in his Arwing... yeah! Now he remembered! The big crystal! They'd found one, and he'd gone out to get it, but some defense system somewhere didn't like that, and it attacked him and Krystal and Falco. They'd dealt with it easy enough. And then he brought the crystal on board so Slippy could look at it. The last thing he remembered was falling on the floor... Nothing after that. _Damn! Too tired, still._ He turned on his sink and splashed water on his face. He did this several times, until the fur on his face was totally soaked. Then he moved over a little to a towel on the wall a dried it off. Much better! Now he was awake. But something looked weird. His paws weren't the right color. They were... blue? Had he gotten something on them? No, it didn't feel like it. They felt clean. They smelled clean. They just didn't look right. Maybe his eyes weren't adjusted properly. Maybe there was something wrong with them, too. He decided to check them in the mirror.

He looked at them, not really seeing the rest of his face. His eyes were blue, too! Why was everything blue? Then he focused on the image in the mirror. It was not what he expected. A figure with a smaller muzzle, which was surrounded by white fur, but blue fur everywhere else, was staring back at him. _Wow, Fox, what did you smoke! You don't look like you at all. _Something seemed familiar about his face. It wasn't his, it was closer to someone else's... He closed his eyes. The memory of Krystal cornering him came back to him. _Krystal!_ _That's _who he looked like! Only a little different. Not with all the feminine facial features. No, he was him, just... not. "Wait a second," he said. And the image in the mirror said it, too. He began to panic. Did he dare look at the rest of him? He pulled off his flight suit, leaving only his boxers, staring at the rest of his body in a panic. He was blue. Everywhere. He looked back at his reflection, gasping. "No..." he said quietly. "This can't be right! I'm not me, but I am me!" His voice hadn't changed. "Computer!" he was yelling frantically. "Recognize voiceprint, McCloud, Fox!"

"Voiceprint verified," the computer said calmly. "Error, command conflict."

Fox didn't like that. "What? What command conflict?"

He really didn't like the computer's response. "Sensors show that command was issued from within Fox's quarters, but there is conflicting data."

Fox was really panicking now. "What conflict?"

"Fox McCloud is not on board Great Fox."

Fox didn't know what to do. So he did the first thing that came to mind.

He screamed at the top of his lungs.

Krystal left her quarters at 0955. She had been checking in with Fox all night, but he hadn't been awake the whole time. She was starting to get worried. Maybe he just really needed to sleep. But as far as she knew, he'd been sleeping normally the last few months. Nothing had come up the whole time since they'd left Corneria, and nothing even before that that she was aware of had kept Fox from sleeping well. If he had had trouble sleeping, why hadn't he said something? You would think he would have at least complained about it. But she was most worried about the fact that he hadn't eaten anything except a little bit at breakfast the previous morning. He must be starving by now. Peppy was probably cooking something now. She wanted to go check on Fox one more time before she went to eat. She knew _she_ was hungry. And if Fox wasn't awake when she got there, she was going to wake him up and drag him to breakfast if she had to. He needed to eat something.

A few minutes later found Krystal approaching Fox's door. As she reached for the panel, however, she jumped as a loud noise erupted from inside the room she was about to enter. It sounded vaguely like a scream. Whatever it was, it was really loud. She tapped on the door. "Fox? Are you okay in there?"

Fox heard something. It sounded like someone tapping on his door. Then he heard Krystal's voice, asking him if he was okay. She sounded really worried. _Well of course she's worried, dumbass! She probably heard you screaming!_ He heard Krystal knock again. "Fox! Can I come in?"

No! She couldn't! She couldn't see him like this! She might actually like it, if he was what he thought he was, but no! It would be more embarrassing than anything he'd ever gone through before in his life!

"Uh, not right now, Krystal. I'm a little... busy," he called.

"Fox, I heard you screaming! Are you okay?" She was relieved to hear that he sounded okay, if a bit scared. But what of?

"Uh... yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Just feel... weird..." he stuttered.

"Are you sure? You don't sound too good. Is there something I can do to help?"

"No! I mean, uh, no- not really, anyway."

Krystal wasn't buying. "Fox, you sound really scared! Let me in. I can help."

"No you can't! Besides, uh... Fox doesn't live here anymore!"

Krystal chuckled at the attempt at being cute, but this wasn't the time. "Fox, I know you're trying to be cute, but you have to let me in."

"I'm not trying to be cute, Krystal, really!" Fox actually sounded serious. "I'm not joking, the computer thinks I'm not here!"

Krystal wrinkled her nose. "What?"

"I'm serious! Ask the computer where I am!"

Krystal shook her head in disbelief. "Will you let me in if I do?"

Fox sighed. She needed to know, if no one else did. "Yes, I'll let you in. But you might not like what you see."

Krystal decided to play along. "Okay. Computer, locate Fox McCloud." She crossed her arms, smirking.

"Fox McCloud is not on board Great Fox."

Krystal's smirk died. "What the...? Oh that can't be right! He's in his quarters!"

"Told you!" came Fox's muffled voice.

"Damn it, Fox! Let me in!"

Fox sighed. "Computer, door unlock."

The door swished open silently, and Krystal walked in. She glanced around quickly, and found that the bathroom door was open.

There was a blue tail sticking out of the doorway.

Krystal cautiously walked toward the bathroom. She came around the corner and was shocked into gasping.

"Fox" was sitting on the floor, his legs drawn up, his head buried in them, clad only in his shorts. "His" tail was off to the side, just sticking out of the doorway. Krystal looked down at this strange person that had sounded like Fox a moment ago, but was obviously not Fox.

"Dear god!" she said quietly. "Fox?"

He looked up at her, letting his fear show through. "I don't know."

Krystal gasped again, not expecting to hear what was definitely Fox's voice come from the blue vulpine. Fox winced. "Please don't do that," he pleaded. "It's not making me feel any better."

Krystal looked at him, at his terrified eyes, which weren't really his. And then, suddenly, she smiled broadly, and began laughing.

Fox's brow dropped, and his eyes narrowed, glaring menacingly at Krystal. "This is beyond funny! This is the worst thing that's ever happened to me! How can you _laugh _at me like that?"

Krystal stopped laughing with some difficulty. "Oh, Fox, I didn't mean it like that... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh at you. Come on, let me help you up." She reached for him.

Fox was hesitant, still rather angry with Krystal. "You really believe I'm me?"

Krystal still smiled at him. "Of course I do. I even think I know what happened to you. I don't know why it took so long, but I understand what happened. I didn't actually think it was possible, but now that I think about it, it makes perfect sense."

Fox allowed her to help him up, still staring at her. "What are you talking about?"

"Well isn't it obvious? You got turned into a Cerinian!" Krystal giggled. "And a very pretty one at that!"

"What?" Fox yelled, his eyes huge. "By what?"

"The large crystal you found. It changed you. It makes sense; it's the only one that would have been powerful enough. My staff didn't do anything to you, but it sure did like you. Maybe you were a genetically ideal subject."

Fox didn't understand her, despite how hard he was trying to. "I don't get what you're trying to tell me."

Krystal grinned at him. "No, I didn't think you would. Okay, time for a history lesson. Might want to get comfortable."

Fox walked over to his bed and sat down. Krystal sat right next to him.

Krystal took his paw in hers and began explaining her people to him.

"When my people first came to Cerinia, they weren't like me. They were more like you. Not blue. They were very diverse. They were all vulpine, though. Every one of them. After staying on Cerinia long enough, they mutated. Evolved, I'd rather say. Nothing bad came of it. In fact, a lot of good came of it. Besides the fact that we changed physically into what I'm a prime example of, they also developed psychic powers. It actually happened rather quickly. Within the same generation that colonized Cerinia. But it was because the crystals that we later learned how to use were everywhere, constantly generating this strange energy. We studied it, and after a while, we discovered that it had done nothing but help us, and it was everywhere. It not only gave us beauty and psychic abilities, it also purified our genetic structure. Illness, impurities, all gone. We were physically and mentally perfect. Better than we had ever been. And it stayed that way. It got to the point where this pure race was the Cerinian race. Not converts from another planet. No one knew about Cerinia, and no one who lived there wished to leave. So our race stayed pure, for hundreds of years."

Fox was amazed by this information. "So the same thing that happened to your ancestors happened to me?"

"Yeah," Krystal said excitedly. "Don't you know what this means?"

Fox was looking at his body. "Yeah, it means I'm going to have to re-apply for citizenship of Corneria. No one's going to believe this..."

Krystal laughed and playfully punched Fox in the arm. "No, silly!" Then she began crying joyfully. She wrapped around him. "It means I'm not alone anymore. I'm no longer the last Cerinian. You're just as much of one as my ancestors were. You're a convert, yes, but look at you! God, you're beautiful! I thought you were cute before. But this... You realize you're the first of my race that I've seen since our planet was destroyed? And the first Cerinian male my own age I've seen since I was 12." She giggled. "You know what that means! You know, I've never been with a boy before..."

Fox backed away from her as she gently ran he paw over him. "Woah, Krystal! Hold on here! Ahhhh!" He yelled as he fell off the bed. He quickly jumped up, shocked to find that Krystal was still advancing toward him. "No! Stop right there!" Krystal stopped, though she continued to eye him with what Fox could only guess was at least 6 years of lust bottled up in her. "Hold on, Krystal. Not professional. Not right. My team would have my head! Or worse..." he tried to get _that_ ugly picture out of his head. He shuddered. "No! Damn it, I like you... a lot... an awful lot... but that's not the point! How far do we go before it becomes a problem for my team? I mean, you saw what happened in the hanger! That was bad enough! Slippy doesn't keep people busy like that very often! And these quarters are very close together on the same deck! The metal construct makes them more efficient acoustic amplifiers than sleeping spaces! You can hear _e v e r y t h i n g!_ Not good! I mean, for people who were... you know... being noisy... Images of Krystal's bare upper body that he had seen on accident the previous day crept into his head, among other things. _No! Damn it, not now! Stop thinking like that, you animal!_

Krystal seemed to sense his thoughts. She grinned slyly. Then she looked at him sympathetically. She was thinking the same way. Fighting with herself, the same way he was. "Fox," she said quietly. He was facing the wall. Suddenly he began hitting his head on it. She came over to him, wrapped her arms around him. Her muzzle was right over his shoulder. "Fox? How long has it been? When was the last time you were with someone?"

Fox stopped hitting his head on the wall. "Too long," he sighed.

"Is that why you were fighting with yourself yesterday when you walked in on me?"

Fox nodded.

She ran her paw through his headfur, scratching his ear, which he found strangely comfortable. "Poor Fox," Krystal whispered. "You were trying to be modest. Now I understand why you acted so strange around me when you first brought me aboard. I'm no stranger to being stared at, Fox. I'm not as naive as some people think. I know exactly the effect I have on people. I do this stuff on purpose, especially with you, because you have so many things to worry about. I tried to take some stress off you, but it seems as though I just added it."

Fox turned around. "No, that's not true." He took a deep breath, "All my life, I've never known what I wanted. What I wanted to do with my life. I'm young still, but I'm too old to not know what I want in life. And when I found you, I knew for the first time what I really wanted. But when I'd made the decision, I didn't know how to get it. How to win you over. I used to think that helping people, fighting for those who couldn't fight for themselves, I thought that was what I wanted. But I always felt empty. The only time I didn't feel that way was when I was flying. When I jump into my ship and take off with a purpose, just me, my Arwing, and my mission. My friends are in there, too, but I have a goal, and I'm going to stick to it. But then I found something else that helped take away the emptiness." He laughed. "Of course, love isn't a flight plan. And it's taken me a long time to figure that out. Nothing is ever set in stone. Even my missions brought up things that were unexpected. But I realized that without that spontaneity, life is about as predictable and exciting as a straight line."

Krystal laughed, joining Fox. He looked into her eyes. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, good things started happening to me when I stopped fighting. Stopped trying to predict. It doesn't make any sense to me, but this is true; when I stopped trying to get your attention, you paid more attention to me. And I quit asking myself why you were interested in me. I didn't know why you did, but I quit caring. For whatever reason, you saw something in me that you liked, and I just accepted that. Maybe it was the lack of options, I don't know." He smiled as Krystal laughed.

"Well, think about it, Fox! Falco, too full of himself. Peppy, too old. Slippy, no interest in anything but his toys. That left you. You were a fox, my age, cute, single, a little arrogant. But on the inside you really cared about things. Most of the other members of your team can make that claim, but not one of them have all of your good qualities. They have their own. Even Falco. But you were closer to me than them. More thanI really wanted at first. I thought I couldn't handle a relationship. I thought I had too many things to worry about. But I decided to try, when I found out what you really felt. Granted, our relationship has been pretty quiet. Not a ton of mush, if you know what I mean." She looked deep into his eyes now. "But I want that to change. I want it to be more. And I know you do too. Don't try to deny it!" She giggled, and Fox smiled a little. She hugged him tightly. "I'm just glad you're okay. I was really worried about you. I came in to check on you all last night, and you were still asleep. I actually came to get you for breakfast! You must be starving."

As if on cue, Fox's stomach growled. "God, I am starving. I feel like my stomach shriveled up."

"Well, let's go eat something," Krystal grabbed his paw and started toward the door.

"Uh, Krystal?" Fox said pulling back.

She turned. "Oh don't worry, you can explain what happened over breakfast." She started tugging him out with her.

"Krystal!" Fox objected.

"What?"

Fox gestured his body. "I don't think they'd like it very much if I came to breakfast half naked."

Krystal giggled. "No, they probably wouldn't. Do you want me to leave while you get dressed?"

Fox laughed at the irony of the situation. "Only if you want to. I didn't."

Krystal laughed with him. "I'll try not to stare."

Fox went over to his closet, and tried to find something casual. He picked the various pieces of clothing one by one, his tail swishing behind him nonchalantly.

Despite what she'd said, Krystal found herself staring at Fox's tail. It was so cute and fuzzy... she wanted to hug it. _No! Don't you go thinking that!_ she scolded herself. _Fox has been a perfect gentleman to you! The least you can do is not molest him with your eyes!_ She bit her lip, and sidestepped over a few feet.

He was changing his boxers. She thought she saw something she really shouldn't have. _Ah! Bad girl! God, what's wrong with you? _She squeezed her eyes shut, and quickly moved over to where she had been. _I'm sorry Fox! I really shouldn't have done that..._

A minute later, Fox emerged from the closet, fully dressed. When he looked over at Krystal, he found her collapsed against the wall, crying.

Fox was surprised. "What's wrong, Krystal?"

"Oh, Fox..." she sobbed. "I haven't been very respectful. I told you I wouldn't stare..."

Fox blushed, and smiled. "Well, thanks for the attention. It's been awhile since anyone really admired my looks!"

Krystal was still crying. "It was a bit more than just admiring... I don't think I was supposed to see you without anything! That's why you were in the closet, right?"

Fox was really blushing now. _She was peeping on me! If I didn't know her better, I'd say she was a dirty little... Well, then again, not. No! Of course not!She _is_ my girlfriend. I know she didn't mean any harm. She's been alone way longer than I have. Poor Krystal..._ "Uh, Krystal? It's really no big deal. I saw you damn near naked. And... you know. I kinda looked longer than I really should have. I'm sorry for staring at you."

Krystal stopped crying. "Yeah, but you didn't move over two feet to get a better view!"

Fox laughed. He hugged her tightly. "Like I care, anyway. Like you said, it's pretty obvious we're more than friends. If my girlfriend has to spy to see more of me, then I'm a lousy boyfriend. Look if you want. I like the attention."

Krystal smiled, still somewhat mad at herself. "So you don't think I'm a dirty little..."

"No, of course not. You said you've never been with someone before. I assume that means you've never been... urm... intimate, with anyone...? So it's understandable. I would have expected this sooner, actually. Don't beat yourself up over it."

Krystal was relieved. Fox had every reason to be hopping mad at her, and he just shrugged it off. Well, it made sense, right? Fox was like that. Besides, she was showing a lot of attention that Fox hadn't gotten in a while. This was probably something he welcomed. "Thanks, Fox. I don't feel so dirty now." She smiled, and kissed him.

"Let's go eat," Fox said, lifting Krystal onto her feet. "I could eat the ship right about now!"

_A/N: I noticed that someone commented that I should go light on the romance. Well, actually, this is primarily a romantic comedy type story. That was the focus, anyway. So I think this chapter did just the opposite... Sorry. I thought of what would really have occurred in this situation. Fox getting turned into Krystal's dream, how would she react? And how would Fox react to being turned into something that Krystal couldn't help but love? I decided that this scenario could be just as funny as it was romantic. I'm not usually one for mush, but this chapter is full of it. Oops... Anyway, thanks for the feedback thus far. I'm not sure how much longer I should continue, but I hope you guys are enjoying it. This is not all I'm capable of, I assure you. But it is my writing at it's best. So keep the comments coming. I like hearing from you guys!_


	5. Chapter 4 Explanation

Disclaimer: Star Fox and all related characters are Nintendo's. "Black Balloon" is copyright the Goo Goo Dolls Chapter 4 – Explanation 

_A thousand other boys could never reach you_

_How could I have been the one?_

_I saw the world spin beneath you_

_And scatter like ice from the spoon_

_It was your womb_

Goo Goo Dolls, "Black Balloon" 

Fox suddenly stopped as he and Krystal came to the door to the main dining area. Krystal looked back at him and rolled her eyes, knowing why he'd stopped.

"Fox, they're your friends. They're not going to judge you, and they'll understand when you tell them what happened. If they don't, I can tell them what I told you, about my people going through the same thing when they first colonized our planet."

Fox didn't look so sure. "Falco will never leave me alone about it. Slippy will turn me into a science project. Peppy... I'm not sure about him. I think he'll leave me alone, although he'll probably make some comment about how I'm really going off the deep end to get to you like me."

Krystal laughed. "Eventually they'll have to accept you as you are now. It's not exactly temporary, you being that way. I can't fix it. And I'm pretty sure nothing you or anyone else can do will, either. Face it, Fox. You're mine, now!"

Fox smiled. "That's not the part I'm worried about." He sighed. "Fine. Let's get the freak show over with. I'm too hungry to sit here and pout."

Krystal ruffled his headfur. "That's the spirit, love!"

Fox sighed again. He was going to be doing a lot of that lately. "Yeah..." He pressed his paw to the panel beside the door. _Let the gawking begin..._

The door swished open, and the thing Fox had been hoping wouldn't happen, happened.

All eyes fixed upon the doorway.

Krystal was nice enough to go first, which actually drew the first comments to her.

"Good morning, Krystal," Peppy said cheerfully. "Nice of you to join us."

Krystal smiled. "Good morning, Peppy. You seem well rested. Find a better mattress?"

Falco snorted. "Yeah, he found one, all right. On the couch in the rec room. I almost sat on him when I went in there to check out the vid streams."

Peppy grinned a toothy grin. "Not my fault you were trying to find a contract!"

Krystal looked confused. "Contract?"

Peppy turned to her. "He was checking the news for chaotic unrest in the galaxy that we could use as an excuse for the good General to hire us."

Falco snorted again. "Damn right. And would you believe it? Nothing! The worst thing I saw on the news streams in a half hour was that someone was put into an ICU after sustaining injury at a metal concert!" That part he added trying to sound as neutral as news anchors often do when reporting their stories. "Pathetic! It's like the world is suddenly becoming a nicer place to live! That's not good for business of people like us! Not even a pirate raid on some filthy rich guy's cargo transport!"

Falco remained silent, indicating he was finished ranting for the moment.

Fox was trying to sneak over to the kitchen unnoticed. It didn't work.

"Hey! Who's that behind you, Krystal?" Slippy said in a voice that was completely innocent, but one that made Fox almost forcibly exit his fur.

Krystal looked behind her at Fox. "Oh, him?" she tried to sound casual. "Just a... um, friend. I found him... um, in Fox's room." Fox started snickering. "I don't know how he got there," Krystal continued, wondering why Fox was starting to laugh.. "But he was... in the bathroom. Half naked. He must be a pirate or something."

Fox broke out in laughter. "Krystal, you're a lousy liar!"

"Hey, wait a minute!" Falco said sitting up, glaring at the blue fox behind Krystal. "He sounds like Fox!"

Slippy was looking at him now, since Fox had come out from hiding behind Krystal. "He sure doesn't look like Fox!"

Fox stood up and raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, you guys caught me. I'm Fox. I don't look like it, and even the computer thinks I'm not me. But I am. I can hardly believe it myself."

Peppy nodded. "It's definitely him. It is his voice, and his mannerism. I would now him anywhere. Heck, I can hardly tell him from his looks anyway, my eyes are so bad!" He laughed. The others laughed with him, even Fox and Krystal.

"Sorry, Fox," she said with a shrug. "I'm not the lying type."

"I know," Fox chuckled. He sat down in an empty chair. The only empty chair that was left. Krystal glanced around, and found there were no other places to sit. Fox saw this, and patted his lap, inviting Krystal to have a seat. She smiled, and took him up on his offer. She eased comfortably into his arms, as if she were made to fit there.

"So _this_ is what was wrong with you, right Fox?" Slippy asked excitedly.

Fox nodded. "You got it, Slip. I was undergoing a transformation. It just took a little longer than it was supposed to."

"So, what the hell are you supposed to be?" Falco said gruffly. "You're not you anymore, at least not on the outside."

Fox tried to look at all of his friends at once. "I'm a Cerinian."

They all looked at him in disbelief.

Fox sighed and pet Krystal on the head. "Would you mind conducting your history lesson again? I don't think they get it."

She smiled at him. "Sure, love."

Falco almost gagged. "Could you guys like stop it with the pet names already? I'm gonna puke if it keeps up."

Fox stared at him. "Then you'll be the one to clean it up, Falco."

Falco crossed his arms and sat back in the chair, closing his eyes. "I always hated history. Wake me when it's over."

Peppy, who was sitting next to Falco, was in easy range to whack him upside the head, and he did so.

Falco sat up quickly. "Hey! What the hell, Peppy! Jeez, what crawled up _your _fuzzy- Ah! Jeez!" He was cut off mid-sentence as Peppy hit him again.

"You know, if my memory serves, _you _were the one who asked Fox what he was! You can at least show the decency to listen to the explanation to your own question!"

Falco cringed as Peppy threatened him again. "Okay, okay! Fine! Just quit with the wailing on me already!" Peppy grinned at him, and Falco just sat, trying to look attentive.

"Sorry about that, Krystal. Please, continue. I'm curious to hear this," Peppy said, noticing the impatient look on Krystal's face.

After a moment, Krystal began to tell the others what she had told Fox a little bit ago.

She ran through her story rather quickly, and soon everyone had been brought up to speed. Though she was trying to be serious, Fox hadn't left her alone the whole time. He had been fiddling with her tail for a good portion of the time, and she did her best to ignore him. Then he'd started rubbing her behind her ears, which helped her relax, but it was still kind of awkward, as she knew the others could see what Fox was doing to her. But they seemed to pay no attention to it; they appeared to be too interested in the story. Even Falco seemed interested. But then again, Falco was a good actor when he wanted to be. He acted tough all the time.

Krystal concluded her story, and the others were nodding, having had the situation finally fall into logic.

Slippy was the first to speak again. "So Fox doesn't just look like a Cerinian, he _is _one, inside and out. That's pretty amazing."

"Yeah, you're telling me," Fox said, remembering how afraid he had been finding out that even the computers didn't recognize him.

"I hate to say this, Fox," Peppy chimed in. "But the General is going to pass a brick when he hears about this."

Fox laughed. "Yeah, he probably will. Enough to build a wall around me. But there's nothing I can do. Krystal can't even change me back. But even if she could, I don't know that I'd want to."

Slippy looked puzzled. "Why not? Don't you want to be remembered the way you were? I mean, the only people who will remember you that way are us and you."

Fox just shook his head. "That doesn't matter. I'm still me. Even if every scanner in the galaxy says I'm not, I'm still me. Being of logic mind, you probably won't understand that, Slippy. And unless you find a way to go through what I have, you never will. There are other things, now, that are more important to me. Things that wouldn't be so important if this hadn't happened."

Slippy was thoroughly confused now. "Like what? I thought flying was the most important thing to you."

Peppy chuckled, and even Falco kind of laughed at Slippy's obliviousness. "Boy, Slippy, if you and you're big freaking brain can't get why Fox doesn't want to change back, you are really in trouble!"

Slippy dismissed that as an insult, and decided to look to Peppy. "Peppy, tell him to quit making fun of me!"

Peppy just smiled. "He's not making fun of you, Slip. Just look at those two over there." He looked over at Fox and Krystal. Slippy looked as well. Fox and Krystal were totally absorbed in each other. Fox was gently stroking Krystal's fur, and Krystal was rubbing her head against his. Neither of them seemed to be aware that they were being observed. And if they did, they certainly didn't seem to care.

Peppy continued to speak, his voice soft with knowing and wisdom. "There is no place those two would rather be than right where they are now. Fox has finally realized that there are things more important than himself. And Krystal has fought her way to the top of his list. Very few people in this world can break Fox's barriers down the way she has. And I think he's going to be a very different person inside because of it. Fox has changed in more ways than one. We won't really notice it in his public life; that part hasn't changed at all. But when you are where he is, you'll understand."

Slippy was still looking at Fox and Krystal, trying to understand. "Where's that, Peppy?"

Peppy patted him on the head. "Fox is in love, Slippy. And it does some strange things to people."

Slippy got it now. "Oooohhh. Okay."

Falco finally found himself feeling rather jealous of Fox and Krystal. _You know, the world could come to an end right now, and those two wouldn't give a crap, as long as they were together. Damn. I wish I could be there... Maybe I'll just lay off those two. Hey, maybe if I do, I'll get there, too! Ah, who am I kidding? I'm too good for that stuff!_

A while later, the team had finished breakfast. Fox and Krystal had snapped out of the land of milk and honey long enough to finish eating. Then the two had gone down to the hanger together. Fox had something he wanted to ask Slippy, and Krystal wanted to get her "Cerinian soccer ball" as Fox had jokingly named it. She intended to build a little shrine in her quarters for it, so she could have a nice place to meditate.

They entered the hangar to find Slippy tinkering with something. He was always doing that, Fox recalled. He smiled and shook his head.

"So what's cooking in the mad scientist's lab today?"

Slippy looked up, some interesting looking glasses magnifying his eyes to unnatural proportions. "Hey, Fox!" he said excitedly. "Working on that energy siphon for Krystal's... uh, crystals."

"How's it coming?"

"Pretty well. Another few minutes and it'll be done."

"You don't need the big one right now, do you?"

Slippy hemmed a second. "No, I don't think so. But I'll need a small one later to test this."

Fox nodded. "Got ya. Hey, Krystal, you can take it."

Krystal nodded, picking up the large glowing orb. "Okay. I'll see you later, Fox. I have some catching up to do." She left the hangar.

Fox waved to her as she left. Then he turned to Slippy again. "Hey, when you're done with that, could you do something for me?"

"Sure. What do you need?"

"Well, it's not pressing or anything, but, is there some way you can... um, soundproof my quarters?"

Slippy's eyebrows went up. "I think so. I can install sound-damping force field generators in the walls. I'd only need to use a few of them. What for?"

Fox was trying not to blush. He had hoped Slippy wouldn't ask. "Uh, you know. To keep the noise, uh, in the room..." Fox glanced nervously around the room.

Slippy looked confused. "What noise?" He thought a second. Then he smiled evilly. "Ooooohhh."

Fox nearly fell backwards. Did Slippy know why he wanted to soundproof his room? He certainly appeared to! "Oh... what?" Fox's voice quivered.

Slippy continued to eye him knowingly. "You're sneaky, Fox! I know why you want me to soundproof your quarters!"

Fox felt like fainting. "Uh... y-you do?"

Slippy laughed. "Of course! It's so obvious! You want me to soundproof your room so Peppy will quit yelling at you to turn your stereo down!"

Fox was sweating, and his heart had skipped a beat or two, but he was relieved that Slippy had absolutely no idea why Fox was asking him this. "Uh, yeah! Yeah! That's right, the stereo! Darn, you caught me red-pawed Slip." He scratched his ear, grinning sheepishly.

Slippy smiled. "I heard him yelling at you the other day, and you couldn't here him, it was up so high! He said he had to override your door command to tell you to turn it down!" He was laughing now. "Yeah, sure. I'll soundproof your room, Fox. It won't take long. But I have to finish this first."

Fox had no problems with that. "Sure. Thanks, Slippy." He started out of the hangar.

"No problem, Fox!" Slippy called back. He chuckled to himself. _Fox, you're a sly one. I guess that's why you're a Fox!_

As Fox left the hangar, he smiled and shook his head. "Slippy, you're never going to change. Your ignorance is my bliss."

_A/N: Okay, I just want to say to everyone that I'm really happy you all are enjoying the story so far. I'm not sure how much longer to continue, but I guarantee that it'll go for at least another chapter, so don't worry about that. I'll take any suggestions you might have, as well. Thanks for reading this story. Keep up with the comments. _


	6. Chapter 5 Play

Disclaimer: Starfox is copyright nintendo. "Weak and Powerless" is copyright A Perfect Circle

Chapter 5 – Play

_Desperate and Ravenous_

_So Weak and Powerless_

_Over you_

A Perfect Circle "Weak and Powerless"

Fox wasn't sure what he really wanted to do at this point. He figured Krystal would want to be left alone to meditate, so he wasn't going to go barging in on her. What else was there to do on this ship? Usually, when the team was bored, Pepper called in just before insanity set in with a job for them. Fox was starting to agree with Falco. Maybe the world _was_ simply devoid of unrest needed their attention. Despite how hard he tried to keep Peppy off his back by taking his advice and being patient, it was oftentimes too difficult for Fox.

Then it hit him. He would call Pepper. He could keep the General busy for an hour just trying to convince him that Fox was himself, and not someone playing a horrendously sick joke. Yeah, why not?

Fox headed to his quarters. It didn't take long before he got there, pushed the panel beside the door, and went straight for his computer terminal. He keyed the device on, and put in a channel to General Pepper's office. Fox knew he'd be in. A second later, the General answered the vidcom.

He eyed Fox suspiciously. "Can I help you?"

Fox smiled. "Yes, you can. I'm calling to inform you that the Starfox team is getting really bored up here, and we'd really appreciate a job."

Pepper looked stunned. _It's certainly Fox's voice, but that face is anything but._ "And who might you be?"

Fox was still grinning. "Uh, yeah, I would be the team's newest member, Fox McCloud 2.0."

General Pepper looked as though he were going to spontaneously combust. "Listen, mister. If this is some joke, I'll have you locked up for the rest of your blue fuzzy life!"

Fox was still laughing. "This isn't a joke, General. You're not going to believe this, but something incredible happened to me. I am Fox McCloud. Ask me something only I- er, he, would know."

The General stared at him. _He definitely acts like Fox... unfortunately._ "What did James always keep on him, no matter where he went."

Fox decided to play with Pepper a bit. "That's easy. His blaster."

Pepper frowned. "Anyone could guess that. No, sorry, I don't buy it."

Fox was still smiling. "Wait! He also kept sunglasses that my mother gave him when they were married in his jacket pocket. He kept complaining after the wedding that the sun visor in his hovercar was too low, and the sun kept getting in his eyes, so they stopped by a convenience store, still in their tux and dress, and my mom got him the glasses."

Pepper was totally stunned. That was more of the story than he even knew. "I don't know how or what happened to you, Fox, but you are most certainly you. Your father stopped that story at 'when we got married.' I never heard the rest of it. Apparently you did."

Fox nodded, pained by the memories of his mother and father. "My mom told me that when I was 8. I'm surprised I remember the details."

Pepper shook his head. "I'm not. Good memory you've got, Fox. Now tell me, what the devil happened to you?"

Fox laughed. "Well, it's kind of a long story, but you remember Krystal?"

Pepper nodded after a bit. "Yes. That girl you found on Dinosaur Planet. What has she to do with this?"

"Well, her people were keepers of crystals on their planet that produced strange energy. This energy transformed the first colonists of her planet into what Krystal is. The people were originally from Lylat."

Pepper chewed on that. "So what does that tell me about what happened to you?"

Fox nodded quickly. "I was getting to that. So we detected some really high, unusual energy readings from the place where the planet used to be. I'm sure you're aware that the planet was destroyed several years ago?"

The General nodded. "Yes, we don't know who it was, but we know they were capable of tremendous destructive power, and that they disappeared shortly after, never to be heard from again."

"We found a rather large crystal in the planet's debris," Fox continued. "I thought we might be able to use it, and Krystal informed us that, despite it's power, it shouldn't be harmful to us, and she gave us permission to use it for peaceful means. Slippy thinks he can use it to upgrade the Arwings' engines. But we decided not to use the large one, so it's still on board. But having it here had some unexpected side effects on me."

Pepper's brows went up. "So it turned you into one of Krystal's people, the same way it did her ancestors?"

Fox nodded. "And as a result, the Great Fox's computer doesn't recognize me, I had to go through a rather lengthy explanation to Krystal first, and then the rest of my team, and just had to live with the fact that no one was going to know I was still me. But it also did some good for me as well. Krystal says when the colonists were transformed, their genetic structure was purified. All ailments and impurities are gone from me. I'm in better shape than I was when I was born. And it looks as though I live to be older than you, General."

Pepper scowled. "Har, har. Have any of the others been affected?"

"No. As far as I can tell, it only affects vulpines."

"How do you know that?"

"Because according to Krystal, all of the Cerinians were vulpine."

The General looked somewhat disappointed. "Darn. I was hoping to cash in on this fountain of youth thing myself. Ah, well. I guess I'll have to continue to endure the increasingly unoriginal cracks about my age from those who haven't been blessed with age yet." Fox laughed at that, and even Pepper chuckled. "Unfortunately, I don't have any jobs for you."

Fox shrugged. "Falco's not going to like that, but that's about it."

Pepper's brow furrowed. "I don't give my tail about what Falco likes. That boy is a pain in my ear! He's worse than you, Fox!"

Fox laughed. "Thanks. I think."

"You're the only one who can keep him in line. Unfortunately, Peppy's the only one who can keep _you_ in line. I don't have any say in your behavior whatsoever!"

"That's not entirely true, General. Peppy's not the only one who can keep me in line. Not anymore. Females have that effect."

Pepper's eyes widened. "Really? A female? In your life? You really have changed, McCloud! I thought you didn't have time for that!"

"I don't have a choice now."

Pepper grunted. "Sounds like hell. My wife is the same way. You know, between you and me, I think the old bat lets it go to her head more than she should."

Fox chuckled. "Sounds like someone else I know."

Pepper's eyes narrowed, and he pointed a finger viscously at Fox. "You watch your step, there, mister. Or I might just lose the paperwork on your next contract, and _you'll_ be stuck with the consequences!"

Fox quit laughing. He cleared his throat. "I read you, General."

Pepper shook his head. "Sometimes, I wonder why in blazes I put up with you." Then he smiled, still shaking his head. "But you're the best there is, Fox. No doubt about that. I'll try to get you some work soon, but these things only happen when they want to. So don't expect anything for a few more days. Pepper out."

Fox got up from the chair in front of the now dead screen and stretched. Now what to do?

Then something to do found him. His terminal powered up again, and Slippy's face appeared. He was energetically holding something in front of the screen. "Hey, Fox!"

Fox turned to see his friend. "Hey, Slip. You finished it?"

Slippy nodded excitedly. "Yeah! Can you go out and get some crystals for me? I'll install the soundproof stuff in your quarters while you're gone."

"Yeah, sure. I need something to do, anyway. I'll be right down."

"Okay. See you in a bit!" The screen powered off again. Fox started out of his room.

_Well, it's better than sitting around all day, _he thought._ Maybe I'll run into more of those little drone ships we saw yesterday._ He walked quickly down the hall to the deck lift. "Hangar bay," he ordered it. Suddenly he found himself thinking about Krystal. Had their relationship been special to her before he changed? It had been to him, but Krystal hadn't changed. Yet he found himself even more attached to her now that he was her... well, equal. Something she always wished she could have, but thought she never could. He was her dream come true. He hoped this meant that she would be happier to be with him. It seemed to be that way now. The way they both had acted at breakfast this morning surprised him. He was rather shocked to find that he had developed an obsessive tendency to touch her. He just liked to. Every time he did, he felt how she reacted to it, and was almost intoxicated by the closeness. He supposed she felt the same way. She certainly acted like it. She was almost purring when he'd rubbed her ears. She seemed more annoyed when he was playing with her tail, but he suspected that was because he'd done that first, before she'd gotten used to him touching her while she was on his lap. Or maybe she just liked having her ears rubbed better? He decided he would explore that. But Fox guessed that, whatever he did, she would enjoy it, because they were being close to each other, and that was all that mattered. He fantasized about what her more intimate side would be like... Thoughts coursed through Fox's mind, and most of them were less than modest. He hadn't even noticed that the lift had stopped. When the door opened, he was shocked to find himself kissing the wall... Not really what he wanted to be seen doing by Slippy. He quickly regained himself, thankful that Slippy hadn't appeared to notice his lapse in character. Or maybe lapse in sanity.

Fox tried to look natural as he entered the hangar. Slippy approached him a second later. "Hi, Fox! Ready to get to work?"

Fox smiled. "Yeah, sure. I'm curious to see how well this works."

"Okay. I'll get to work on your room. I should be done by the time you get back," Slippy said as he grabbed a small case and headed for the lift door. "Just call me when you get back."

"Will do," Fox said, walking to his Arwing. "This should be a piece of cake," he added to himself. He ran through a few checks, and, when everything read green on his computer display, powered up his engines, and prepared to ease out of the hangar. Then he got another thought, and decided subtlety would do justice to how he felt right then. He loaded a music program in his computer, selected a playlist, and cranked the volume up. Metal and techno spewed out of the ships industrial-strength speakers, and Fox found himself nodding his head with the music. He let out a triumphant howl as he threw his throttle forward, and exploded out of the hangar, his shield melding with the hangar's force field effortlessly, even at his current speed, as he passed though it.

Peppy rested in the command chair on the bridge. He had been reading a moment earlier, but decided to take a nap shortly afterward. He was just nodding off when ROB's harsh voice broke into the silence of the room.

"I have detected an unauthorized Arwing launch from the main hangar bay. It is moving at a reckless velocity away from Great Fox."

Peppy jerked awake. "Wha...?" he snorted. "Who launched?"

ROB answered a moment later. "It is Fox's Arwing."

Peppy tried to run every possible reason why Fox would launch and not tell anyone. The person that kept coming up in his mind was Krystal. Was Fox taking her on a joyride? "ROB, where's Krystal?"

"Krystal is in her quarters."

Well, that was out. Unless Fox had gotten Slippy to mask her bio signature, and generate a decoy in her quarters. Why would Fox do that? He decided to just ask. "ROB, open a channel to Fox."

ROB pressed a button, and might have said something in confirmation, but if he had, Peppy certainly hadn't heard it, because as soon as the channel opened, it was flooded with loud, obnoxious music. Peppy groaned, and covered his ears. "_Fox! _Dagnabbit_, turn that down!"_

Fox had seen Peppy on his display, wondering why he was calling him. Then he remembered. He hadn't authorized the flight. Oops... Fox killed the music. "Sorry, Peppy, I forgot to authorize the flight."

Peppy was still trying to get the ringing out of his ears. "Darn it, Fox, that music of yours is going to be the death of me. Now, why are you out there?"

Fox was smiling at the "music will be the death of me" comment. "Slippy told me he'd finished the energy siphon and adapted it to a booster assembly, and he asked me to go get a crystal for him. We didn't want to use the big one, remember?"

Peppy nodded. "Yes, I remember. But next time, clear the flight! We have protocols for a reason! I was trying to take a nap. What's gotten into you, anyway? ROB said you cleared the hangar recklessly fast."

Fox nervously scratched his ear. "Heh, sorry. Got a little carried away. I was thinking about Krystal."

Peppy shook his head. "That explains it. Just do things in the right order next time. It's clear flight, then launch. Not launch excessively fast, clear flight with deafening background music."

Fox laughed. "Okay, I'll do that next time. Although I can't promise you I won't leave recklessly fast... loud music does that."

Peppy sighed. "Whatever, just get the _order_ right."

Fox couldn't resist. "Oh, you mean the fries, burger and _then_ drink? Did you want to supersize that?"

Peppy groaned. "The only thing I got supersized was my headache. Peppy out."

Fox was still laughing at his joke. So it was lame, he didn't care. Nothing was going to spoil his mood. He wondered what Krystal was doing. He hoped she was having as much fun as he was.

Krystal knelt down on her knees before the large crystal, which she had placed on her nightstand. It wasn't a shrine, but it would serve for now. Besides, she didn't have any of the materials her people used to build shrines. They were usually constructed of rare exotic metals. The only things she had that were made with them were her staff, and the power core in her ship. She didn't have any intention of dismantling either of those.

She laid her staff across her lap, breathed deeply, and then put the staff straight vertically in front of her. Closing her eyes, she cleared her mind. She had set her door system up to not admit visitors, and to not respond to anyone trying to contact her. Likewise, she had locked out her computer terminal, and disabled the speakers in the room. She wanted to make sure she was not disturbed. So as not to worry anyone, she stuck a note on her door telling anyone who came by that she was meditating and to please not disturb her.

These were the last thoughts she had as her mind cleared and focused. The glowing crystal on her nightstand glowed brighter, and her staff's crystals began glowing as well. Then the crystals on her tiara and pendent glowed. The room filled with light, and Krystal focused her mind on her question.

That question was Fox. Since his transformation, he had become more attached to her. She didn't want to doubt him, but did he care about her more because of what had happened to him? Or was it genuine affection? Or both? Maybe he was reacting the way he was, because she started acting differently. Had she become more attached? And was that genuine? If Fox hadn't changed, would she love him as much as she did now? This question had been plaguing her since Fox's transformation. Would Fox love her as much as he showed if he hadn't changed? She focused on him. She became aware of where he was, and what he was doing. His mind was jumbled, but he was obviously excited about something. She went deeper into his mind. She smiled as she found why he was so excited. He was listening to his loud music. Krystal shook her head, and delved deeper. He had to have been in a good mood to begin with, his music was just fueling it. Then she found it. He had been thinking about her. A lot. Almost non-stop since she'd left for the hangar. He really did care! She realized she was on the brink of invading his privacy. She didn't want to see his more private thoughts, they were ones he kept to himself for a reason. She had confirmed her suspicions. He did love her. It was pretty obvious. But how much? There was only one way to find out. She fell out of her trance-like state, opening her eyes, coming back to reality. She glanced down and touched her pendent, holding it in her paw.

She knew how to find out if Fox loved her as much as she loved him.

It didn't take Fox long to gather some of the smaller crystals. Much to his disappointment, there was no further resistance from rouge robot ships. He accessed Slippy's portable communicator, and informed him that he had returned with the crystals.

"I'm on my way," he said. "I finished the soundproofing. It is wired into your main terminal, and can also be enabled or disabled by voice commands. By the way, Krystal was looking for you. She said she'd be down in the training room when you got back."

Fox smiled, happy that Krystal had been looking for him, but puzzled as to why she would want to meet him in the training room. There was nothing there, except the simulator and shooting range. What did she have up her sleeve?

"Thanks, Slip. Good work on my room. I'll look forward to testing it out."

Slippy shrugged. "It's rated to handle way more than your stereo can put out. Just make sure it's on. It always helps to double check."

Fox nodded. "I will. Thanks, Slippy."

"No problem, Fox."

Fox closed the connection and hopped out of his ship. He went to the lift, and went up one level, walked down the short hallway to the training room, and keyed open the door. When it opened, it was pitch black. The only light in the room came from the open door, which closed behind him. As soon as it did, the room changed. Suddenly there was a moon casting a bluish glow down around what appeared to be a forest. Fox glanced around to find Krystal. He heard the sound of a stream nearby. Fox grinned as he realized where he was. Krystal had rigged up a holosim projection of a forest on the outskirts of Corneria City. He had been here many times during his academy training. Krystal must have picked it out of the ship's computer of maps and terrain, and programmed the simulator with it. The sophisticated holographic simulator was what the team used to train in their Arwings and on foot in conditions and terrain not readily available.

Except Krystal had turned it into a romantic getaway.

Fox grinned broadly, wishing he'd found some more suitable clothing. He had a feeling Krystal wouldn't mind.

"Hi, Fox."

Fox turned to face the soft female voice that had spoken to him. He almost gasped at what he saw before him.

Krystal was dressed in an incredibly beautiful strapless dress. The colors on it were all shades of blue, but they intermingled with each other in a way that Fox had never seen done with clothing. It almost looked like it was not quite there, shimmering and waving.

"Krystal!" he gasped. "My god... you look... amazing!"

She smiled. "You like it? I wasn't sure what to do. Your people wear different things than I'm really used to. I had the computer replicate the original, and then I decided to do my own thing with it."

Fox came up to her. "I've never seen colors do that. Is that your doing?"

She grinned, nodding. "Mmm-hmm. Neat, huh?" She laughed, watching Fox's expression.

"It's... it's incredible! How did you-mmmph!" Fox was cut off as Krystal kissed him.

"Quit talking so much, silly! Look around you. It's quiet. Peaceful. You should do the same. There'll be plenty to be noisy about later!" She grabbed his paw in hers and walked over to a clearing, which was completely in the light of the full moon.

Fox wasn't sure what she'd meant by that last comment, but he didn't argue. He followed her to the clearing, being tugged along. She turned and put her arms around him. She looked up into his eyes. He glanced around. He looked almost... sad. "What's wrong, Fox?"

He looked down at her, and smiled after a bit. "Nothing. I just can't believe you did this. It's really nice. I must have come here hundreds of times when I was at the academy. Never with anyone, though. Sorry I couldn't pretty myself up."

She giggled. "It's no problem. I wanted to do this for you. I also wanted to give you something."

Fox held her as she reached around to the back of her neck, and removed her necklace. She held it up so he could see it.

Fox's eyes went huge. The crystal glistened in the moonlight, and Fox's eyes glistened with it. Then he shook his head. "I can't take that, Krystal. It... I've never seen you without it."

She smiled still. "You can take it. I'm giving it to you. Cerinian custom demands it." She put it around his neck and fastened it.

Fox looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

She poked his nose playfully. "Silly. It means that I love you. Every Cerinian girl has something that she wears all the time. When she finds the boy she wants to stay with, she gives him a necklace, or bracelet, or something like that. It has a crystal in it, and if the boy loves her as much as she loves him, it will glow. I'm testing you. I hope you pass."

Fox smiled as he heard this. "What if I fail?" He knew he wouldn't.

Krystal looked at him with large hopeful eyes. "I would be very disappointed in you. But I know you love me as much as I love you. So we don't have to worry about that." She kissed him again, and Fox submitted to her, running his paw through her hair. The gem in Krystal's pendent glowed brightly, illuminating Krystal's broad smile as she pulled he muzzle away from his. Her eyes seemed to be made of colorful water, and Fox found himself drawn in by her gaze. She nudged his chest. "Told you!"

Fox enjoyed her head being where it was. He caressed her fur, rubbing behind her ears. Krystal hugged him tightly, feeling his breathing, listening to his heart.

She looked up at him again, her eyes watering. "I've never loved anyone like I love you, Fox. Even if you hadn't turned into a Cerinian. It doesn't matter to me, now. I was overjoyed when it happened, but now all I want is to make you happy. I wish I were able to change you back. But I'm not..."

Fox cocked his head to the side. "That doesn't matter. I like being what I am. It makes you happy. It lets you see something that you thought you'd never see again. A taste of home, I guess. And it brought me closer to you than I ever thought I could be. I... I don't deserve you. You deserve better than a... freelance mercenary. Whether I look like a Cerinian or not, I love you. But I still don't think I deserve you."

Krystal smiled, and rubbed his cheek. "Yes you do. You have shown me something that I haven't had. You really love me. And whatever caused that, you truly feel that deeply. So what caused you to fall in love with me no longer matters. What matters is, we both love each other very much. That's what true love is. I've heard a phrase that your people seem to like using a lot. 'Beauty is only skin deep.' I think that's true. Because when you and I are really old, it won't matter what we look like!" She laughed. "Our love will be all that matters. Besides, Cerinians live a lot longer. We could be together longer than one lifetime for a Cornerian! That's the good part about you being turned into a Cerinian."

Fox grinned at this. "How much longer?"

She giggled. "About 200 years, love. Too long?"

Fox smiled and hugged her tightly. "Not a chance." They kissed again, significantly longer this time.

When they broke away again, Krystal looked at him suspiciously. "By the way, Slippy was at your quarters today, and he told me he was soundproofing your room. You wouldn't know why he was doing that, would you?"

Fox laughed nervously. "Heh... yeah, I know why. I had him do it."

Krystal's eyes widened. "Whatever for?" Then her eyes narrowed. "As if I didn't already know!"

Fox smiled, glancing around. "I have a feeling you probably do."

Krystal shook her head. "Now, you know better than that, you naughty fox. Your thoughts are much less modest that what comes out of your mouth!"

Fox's eyes went huge. "And how would you know that? Prying into my brain? Who's naughty now, you dirty little telepath!"

Fox, of course, was joking with her, but he was still shocked that she had peered into his mind and had a look around. Krystal put her paws up in innocence. "Hey, I wasn't the one thinking the dirty things! I was just... re-thinking them with you in them instead of me."

Fox chuckled. "Oh, were you now?"

Krystal looked at him smugly. "Yes, I was. And what do you think you're going to do about it?"

Fox shrugged. "Let it stir you up inside, I guess. The lust has to come out sometime. I just hope I'm around when it does. Because I can only imagine what you'll be like when it happens."

She giggled slyly. "Yeah, I bet you'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Fox shrugged again. "Hey, I won't deny it. It would be an interesting side of you I definitely haven't seen before."

She laughed. "Oh, you haven't seen anything yet!" She headed for the door, tugging Fox along behind her. "Well, come on! I don't want to drag you back to your quarters!"

"Coming dear," Fox laughed.

Krystal grinned. "Oh you can't now. We haven't started yet!"

_Woah! _Fox's eyes went wide again. _She's full of surprises tonight!_

Krystal felt adrenaline course through her as she began running down the hall. _Must go faster, must go faster!_ They stopped at the lift. It seemed to take forever before the door opened. She dashed into it dragging Fox behind her. "Waaa!" he yelled as his body suddenly started moving again. Krystal grabbed Fox, pushed him against the wall, and kissed him ravenously. Fox tried to end the kiss with subtlety, but that didn't work. He finally had to push her off him. "Jeez, Krystal!" he laughed. "Can I _breathe_ before you devour me?"

Krystal was nearly panting. Fox couldn't tell if it was because she'd been running, or something else. "Sorry, Fox. Getting carried away. Haven't felt this... crazy... before."

Fox shook his head. "More like you were carrying _me_ away. You need to slow down, enjoy the feeling, don't go insane."

Krystal collapsed. "I'm sorry, Fox. I... can't really control myself. I wish I knew how. But these feelings... I can't ignore them. It's really difficult to deal with them, in a way that... still shows I'm me. I don't normally act this way, as you probably know. But... something about tonight has really set me off. Maybe I'm just weird..."

Fox hugged her. "No, you're not weird. You've been alone too long. Most girls I know would have freaked out some time ago. I think it's about time."

She looked up at him. "Really?"

Fox smiled. "Yeah. You just need to get it out of your system."

Krystal tried to smile at him. Fox scooped her up in his arms, one in the middle of her back, the other under her legs. "Come on. I'll take over from here."

Krystal was more than happy with that, and she nudged him to let him know. The lift stopped, and Fox walked out, with Krystal wrapped around him. It was a short walk to his quarters, and when they got there, Krystal kissed him and asked him to put her down.

"I'm fine, now. But I still feel like dragging you in there!"

Fox sighed. "I almost wish I'd let you."

She smiled. "Well, you still can." She hit the panel to open the door, took both Fox's paws in hers, and took him over to his bed. She wrapped her arms around him, kissed him gently, and laid him down on the bed. She reached around behind her and undid the zipper on the back of her dress.

"Computer," Fox said, watching Krystal intently. "Lock door, enable soundproof."

The last thing one could have seen through Fox's door was Krystal's naked body falling onto Fox.

_A/N- Bwa, ha, ha, ha! No more mush for you! I think I exceeded the T rating as it is, so I don't think getting anymore graphic is going to help me. You want more graphic, write it yourself! Anyway, this isn't the end, so don't panic. I finally figured out how to put messages in the review thing for you guys, too. God, this chapter got long, though! The last time I checked it, it was 2000 some-odd words, and it turned into over 5000 in one day! Gasp! Okay, that's it from me. I hope you guys liked this chapter, because I sure as heck enjoyed writing it. _


	7. Chapter 6 Resolution

**Disclaimer: Starfox and all related characters are nintendo's. "Closing time" belongs to Semisonic.**

**Another disclaimer: rating may go up due to description of sexual activity. Those of you who shouldn't read that stuff should probably leave and ask someone else about what happened because you will miss the ending.**

Chapter 6 – Resolution

_Closing time_

_Every new beginning comes from some other_

_Beginning's end_

Semisonic, "Closing Time"

Fox awoke in a sleepy haze. The ship's daylight simulation had kicked in. The system was designed to simulate day and night by dimming or brightening the internal lights all over the ship to fit the clock. Right now, it was 0900, as Fox managed to see on the digital clock on his nightstand. But he had to look at it for a few seconds to finally comprehend what he was seeing. For the most part, his brain had become fully functional, as he was quick to wake up, even if he didn't appear to be. But Fox noticed someone else in the room who was still fast asleep.

Krystal was cuddled up beside him, her arms draped over his chest. Fox stroked her cheek with the back of his paw gently, so as not to wake her. She stirred a bit, but didn't wake. Fox debated on kissing her head, but decided not to. Instead, he watched her peaceful sleep intently, his body full of warmth for her. He felt the love radiate from her, as well, even though she was asleep. Just by the way she was so relaxed beside him told him that she was more at peace than she ever had been, and had probably slept better than she ever had, too. Fox closed his eyes, remembering the previous night. Fox would not have guessed that she had never done that before by how she'd taken over partly during their lovemaking. At first, Fox let her do whatever she felt like doing. She seemed to be in that kind of mood, and she'd definitely seemed to enjoy being in charge. She knew exactly what she was doing, and Fox had been observing her, to find out just what she wanted. This had allowed him to tame her, as she had been more off the wall than Fox had ever seen her. He continually blamed it on the fact that she'd had so much sexual energy built up, and no adequate way to release it. Until he came along. He had been the sole target of that bottled up energy, about which he had absolutely no complaint whatsoever.

But she'd been really easy to subdue once she'd let him take over. Fox was definitely glad that he'd gotten the soundproofing done when he had, because Krystal had been anything but quiet. Although that may have been because she knew the room had been soundproofed. Fox decided that thinking too much about that was not relevant, and he simply didn't care. Krystal being as noisy as she had been was the manifestation of every fantasy Fox had ever thought had involving a female, and he had no wish to continue to fantasize when the real thing was right next to him. A broad smile crossed his face as he looked upon her again. As beautiful as she was now, Fox remembered very vividly how she looked under all those blankets. Soft white fur covering her entire front. In fact, her whole body was soft. Along with this fact, Fox became aware of something else that her really enjoyed about her. Her smell. The night before had assaulted the two with smells that Fox hadn't enjoyed for too long, and that Krystal had never enjoyed at all. She still smelled of her sweet, feminine aroma, which Fox breathed in deeply. Or maybe that was what had been left on his bed. Or both. _Oh, who freaking cares, she smells incredible!_ Fox decided.  
He stared at her with an intense love, and found himself hoping to all things holy that he'd made her first mating experience one that she would never forget. He resolved that he would never be with another girl as long as he lived, and he would do anything to make her happy. Too many girls he'd known as friends had been hurt by their first lovers ditching them for someone else, shortly after making such a dramatic commitment. Fox decided that he would never hurt Krystal like that. Then something else hit him like a freight train.

What if she was pregnant? Well, it was certainly possible. He didn't remember either of them expressing concern about it. If it happened, it happened. Was Fox prepared to deal with that? _Oh, what the hell are you talking about?_ he thought angrily. _You love her, and she loves you! If she's pregnant, what the hell are you scared of? You can handle kids! And so can she!_ But then, he realized that they'd never talked about it. Not even a joke about it. Fox wondered if that's what Krystal wanted. He didn't want to wake her up to ask. She would wake up eventually, so he decided that when she did, he would talk to her about it. Besides, he needed a shower. Bad. As much as he wanted to keep her smell on him, he realized that his fur was quite greasy. "Stupid sweat..." he muttered almost inaudibly.

He tried to be as unobtrusive to Krystal as he could as he rolled off the bed, and padded lazily toward the bathroom. He shut the door behind him, and pressed moved over to the shower control pad on the wall. He set it for 110 degrees. "A _hot_ shower," he muttered. He would turn it on a cooler setting when he'd finished scouring the sweat from his body. The water streamed out and immediately steamed up the room. Fox removed his undergarments and was about to jump in when he noticed something strange. A marking on his hip. He looked closer, and realized it was very similar to the tattoo Krystal had in the same location. It was on the other hip, too. It was almost identical to Krystal's, except for two things. One, which was more obvious: the triangles were in an X formation, not a +. And second, if Fox remembered correctly, Krystal's tattoo's spiral went the opposite direction. His was spinning counter-clockwise. Krystal's spun clockwise. What did this marking mean? Fox had always assumed that the markings were tribal tattoos. Evidently they were closer to birthmarks. And why were his so similar to Krystal's? Did they mean something? He decided this was something else to ask her when she woke up. He hopped into the shower, yelping a bit, as the water was a bit warmer than he'd anticipated, but quickly adjusted and closed the shower's door.

Twenty minutes later found Fox exiting the bathroom, clearly refreshed. He had found the stiffest brush he could find to scrub his fur clean with scalding water. It had been a little much to take for longer than ten minutes, though, and Fox finally had turned the water temperature down to a much more refreshing 75 degrees. By comparison to the shower he'd been taking, he suddenly had felt like he had been swimming in the wake of an iceberg.

He emerged from the bathroom in a robe. He really felt a lot better, and his fur was much softer now. He had done that on purpose, knowing Krystal would appreciate it.

Speaking of which, where was Krystal? Fox glanced around the room, and almost missed her, except for her tail sticking out from around a corner, twitching slightly. Fox came around the wall, and found her staring out the window at the stars, wearing only her fur, which was a complete mess all over her body. In certain understandable places, her fur was matted. Her hair was ragged looking. But Fox still enjoyed looking at her. He saw her eyes, the only party of her that seemed to be the way they always were. But there was something different about them. They were too shiny. Fox looked closer, and found that the fur around her eyes was in a similar state as the rest of her. It was matted. But not from last night. She was crying.

"Krystal? Are you okay?" Fox said softly. She looked at him, but didn't move otherwise. She smiled after a bit.

"Yes, Fox. I'm fine. Just... thinking."

Fox wondered what she was thinking about that had upset her. "Can I... do something to help?"

She giggled a little, but didn't look at him. "Well, you can come over here and hold me."

Fox shrugged. "Sure." He came over to her, taking her paw in his.

Krystal glanced back at him, tugging his robe. "What's this for? Hiding yourself from me, hmm?" She tugged the strip of cloth that held it closed, wiggling herself against his body within it. Fox caught the drift, and closed the robe around them, pulling her closer to him. Every part of his body was in close contact with hers now. Apparently just what Krystal wanted. She breathed in deeply, and sighed, relaxing as his arms found their way around her middle. "Much better." she purred. Fox buried his muzzle in Krystal's cheek, licking her. She giggled, then turned her muzzle to his and grabbed his tongue up in her mouth, and kissed him. She felt him hug her tighter, and she took one of his paws in hers, and cupped it over her breast, still intensely kissing him.

"Krystal?" he said finally.

"Yes, love?"

"I really need to talk to you... about last night."

She shivered, remembering the experience herself. "Mmm... what about it?"

"Well I... we... you could be pregnant."

She grinned at him. "Well, I would think so!" She touched the matted fur inside her thighs. She kissed him on the nose. "You made quite a mess!"

Fox was blushing. "Well, I mean... is that what you wanted? I mean, you never asked me about it. We never really talked about it or anything. I thought you might not have realized that that could, you know, happen. Are you... _ready_ for something like that?"

She looked at him with an inner warmth that grew as she stared into his eyes. "Well, I kind of expected it. I didn't think much about it at first, because I was too busy... um, enjoying myself. Or you, or... you know, whatever. But afterward, yes, I thought about it. I decided that it didn't matter. I love you. And if you were to bless me with children, even at this point in my life, well... I can think of no one better to make me a mother than you, Fox."

Fox was amazed at how she worded that. It made sense, and she was truly not worried about it. In fact, she welcomed it. That made Fox feel a lot better.

She looked at him, and sensed he was fighting himself to say something else. "Fox, do you... not feel ready? I mean, to... have children? Does it scare you, or something?" She seemed very concerned about it, like she half expected Fox to be angry that she could be pregnant.

Fox shook his head quickly. "No, no. It's not that at all, Krystal. I just... can't really top how you put it." He grinned sheepishly.

Krystal giggled. "Oh. So you were just worried about how _I_ felt about it."

Fox smiled. "Yeah. I wasn't sure how you would react. I'm fine with it. I think I'm about to the point in my life where... I should be thinking about that stuff. Quit playing around, and get serious." He laughed. "I'm going to sound like Peppy saying this... You're still young enough that you could go out and see what else there is to experience. I was worried that you would miss out on something."

Krystal shook her head. "Miss out on what? Casual sex? 'Playing the field' as you people say? No way. Too many unknowns in there. I don't want to gamble, especially when I know what I've got right here. I don't care what else is out there, because no one could make me any happier than you have. Especially not with the experience you've given me." She giggled. "And I'm not just talking about last night!"

Fox blushed again. "I know what you meant."

She nudged his cheek. "I know. Just playing with you, love. You've made me feel more complete, more alive, than I've ever felt before. I mean, I don't know if you've noticed me, but I feel this... _energy_ coursing through me that I've never felt before. I feel _alive._ Like I'm not restricted by anything. I feel like I could just..." she spread her arms out to either side of her. "Fly out of this window, and sail into that nebula cloud over there. In fact, look at it. Just look at it!" Her voice was hushed excitement. Fox looked out at where she was indicating. The cloud was made up of reds, yellows, blues, all swirling together in a fantastic display. "That" Krystal said breathlessly. "Is how I feel inside. I can't compare it to anything I've ever felt before, because I've never been this way before. I've felt this way for some time toward you, Fox. And when I finally realized what it was, I was too afraid to tell you. To afraid to admit that I loved you. Then I found out how you felt. You know, up until last night, out relationship wouldn't have had the outside appearance of love that was that intense. Or then again, maybe it did. I don't know. I don't care. What I know is what I feel right now. What I felt last night. And all I care about is for this incredible felling to never go away. And you're the one that makes it happen to me."

Fox was awestruck. How could she describe it so well? He sure couldn't, even though he felt exactly like how she described. "I wish I could have put it into words like you just did!" he laughed. "But I feel everything you just said you feel. I just... could never _say_ it to you. I hope you don't doubt it, you know, because I couldn't say it?"

Krystal kissed him gently. "Of course I don't doubt you, Fox. I knew you felt that way. Why do you think I let last night happen? I wouldn't have strung you along like that until I was absolutely sure you felt the same way. Hence the crystal. It's why I gave it to you in the first place. And when it glowed so brightly... I felt like my very being resonated with it. At that point I knew, without a shred of doubt, that you loved me as much as I do you. That's why I was so... er, excited about it. Because I knew it was time to take the next step." She placed his paws on her belly, hugging him close. "And if part of you grows within me, even now, I promise to love it as much as I love you. I always will. " Fox was going to speak, but Krystal silenced him with another kiss. "Don't try to say it yourself, Fox. I know you promise me that, too."

Fox smiled, relieved. "Thanks. It was going to come out awkward. I really need to work on that."

She shook her head, smiling. "Poor Fox. Don't worry. I have a lot of time to teach you."

Fox grinned. "That would be a first. It seemed like, after last night, _I_ was going to be doing all the teaching!"

Krystal glared at him. "Oh really? _You_ teach _me?_ Ha! Don't make me laugh!"

Fox stared at her. "Yeah, teach you! Remember this?" He turned her around to face him, then picked her up, lifting her from her thighs, and pressed her against the wall. He buried his face in her chest, as she yelled in surprise, feeling his tongue slide over her breasts. "Hey you! Cut that out! Ahh! We can play later!" Somewhere in this playing around, Fox's robe fell away completely, but neither of them seemed to notice, or even care. Fox put Krystal down, pawing her inner thighs.

"Woah!" Krystal exclaimed. "Hey, now! Private property! No trespassing allowed!"

Fox laughed, but let her be for the moment. As she'd said, they could play later. Fox found it ironic that he was now hoping General Pepper didn't call them anytime soon. _Oh crap, don't think that! Then he _will_ call! I hope he like, kicks it or something. Wait, no. Bad idea. Boss kicks it, we're out of work. I hope he breaks a leg. Or ear, or something. Something not fatal, but enough to keep him in the hospital, or at least keep him from getting us a contract for a while. Yeah. Much better than killing him. Damn, I almost wished my boss to die... _that's_ not very professional._

Then Fox remembered something else he'd wanted to talk to Krystal. He glanced at the marking on her hip. "Hey, Krys. What's that mean?" he patted the mark.

She grinned at him. "An excuse for you to slap my butt, obviously!" she giggled. "No, it's my princess mark. I was born with it. I bet you thought it was a tattoo!"

Fox shrugged. "Yeah, I did. Same with the one on your arm?"

She nodded. "Mmm-hmm. That one means I'm... well, a peaceful warrior, if that makes any sense. It means my personality is such that, I don't like violence, or hurting others, but that I'm skilled in combat. Or, predispositioned to be, anyway. All my people are... were, born with marks like these, that told what their most prominent behavioral characteristics were."

Fox did a mental double take. "Wait! What did you say the other was?"

"My princess mark. It just means I'm predispositioned to be a leader. All the members of my planet's government were born with these marks."

Fox looked nervous. "What does it mean when a boy has a similar mark?"

Krystal looked puzzled. "Well, I guess it means that you're a leader too. My father had a mark similar to mine. Usually, if you're born with these marks, when no one else born that year is, it means that you become royalty automatically. Why?"

Fox turned his hip so she could see. Krystal looked at it and gasped. "Oh my... Fox, this says you're a prince!"

Fox was puzzled. "What? But I thought you said that all members of your government had these marks. How could I be a prince?"

Krystal shook her head vigorously. "No, no, no. Those other marks were just the triangles with lines connecting them! You have a spiral. Like mine! But yours goes the other way, and the triangles are in an X!"

Fox was getting worried. "Well, what does that mean?"

Krystal was examining him closely now, more curious than worried. "Well, the position of the triangles on the female mark resembled compass points. Hence the leader thing. The spiral represents a depth of knowledge guiding the compass points. You're mark is the male equivalent of mine. If mine were compass points, they'd be north, south, east and west. Yours are the in between directions. Together, they symbolize that a compass with eight directions is more efficient than one with four. Yours also has the spiral, going the other way, which also symbolizes a depth of knowledge, but from an... alternate perspective, to cover more ground, if you will. These two marks together mean a strong governmental structure, hence the heads of government, one male, and one female, have these two marks. My parents had the same marks. Yours is exactly the same one as my father's." She looked at him in awe. "You're my other half!"

Fox tried to take that in. "I... but I'm not Cerinian! Where did this come from? I wasn't born with these!"

Krystal became lost in thought. "Maybe the crystal that transformed you, read your... behavior through your genes. Everyone is predispositioned genetically to certain behavioral traits. That's why my people relied so heavily on these markings to find who would be best suited for certain rolls. I don't know when the marks began appearing on people, but it wasn't right away, because our government wasn't the way it was in modern times when the first colonists of our planet came. When the markings became abundant, my people studied them, and found that they were linked to certain character traits. Over time, the findings were accumulated into a book. A library of all known marks, and what they meant. When we found how accurate they were, we used this book a lot. It's kind of like your horoscope. But those aren't always accurate. These are. Well, it makes sense, doesn't it? You _are_ a leader!" She laughed, standing up. "You really are full of surprises for me!" She hugged him tightly. "Come on. The others are probably waiting for us to get breakfast." She ran into the bathroom and grabbed a robe, putting it on as she came back out. Fox did the same.

Fox smiled at her. "Yeah, because you don't really know how they'd react to us being out there naked!"

She laughed. "Not exactly good for digestion, is it?" Fox shook his head. The two walked out of Fox's quarters paw in paw. They were going to be seen doing a lot of that now.

Peppy glanced at the wall chronometer. It was almost ten. "Those two are late again! I wonder what's keeping them.

Falco snorted. "Probably each other. They haven't been without each other for more than five minutes in days!" He laughed. "Knowing Fox, I think I know what they're up to!"

Peppy shook his head. "They would have woken us up. That whole deck is a bell. Any noise, even a cough, gets amplified loud enough to wake people up. And I'm a light sleeper." He took a sip of coffee. "Trust me, if they had been doing anything like you're suggesting, we would have all heard it. Besides, Krystal's not like that."

Falco shook his head. "I don't think so, Peppy. You saw them in the hangar the other day! You know, I think it's weird that we haven't even heard his music, though. I mean, if he's by himself, and not with Krystal, that's what he'd be doing, I would bet my tail feathers on it."

Slippy shook his head. "Oh, you wouldn't hear his music, even if he had it turned all the way up."

Peppy and Falco stared at him. "Why's that, Slippy?"

Slippy wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "Because Fox asked me to install soundproofing in his quarters yesterday. They're high-tech sound dampening force field generators. Trust me, you wouldn't hear _anything_ coming from Fox's room."

Falco and Peppy looked at each other, then at Slippy. Slippy looked nervous as the others stared at him. "What are you guys looking at me like that for?"

Falco whacked him on the head. "You _soundproofed _Fox's room?"

Slippy covered his head. "Ow! He said it was to keep the his stereo from waking anyone up!"

Falco chucked almost evilly. "Oh, yeah! I'm sure he did! That sneaky vulpine! You actually _bought _that?"

Slippy was glaring at him angrily. "Well what else would he want it for?"

Falco was laughing his beak off now. "Oh gee, I don't know!" He almost fell on the floor. "Slippy, you idiot! Haven't you noticed that Krystal and Fox aren't here?"

Slippy still glared at Falco. "Yeah. So what?"

Falco laughed harder. "Where do you think they are, genius? I'll give you a hint. They're together, and most likely still in Fox's quarters! Do the math!" He was now laughing hysterically. The he suddenly stopped, and his voice was almost a whisper. "No, no! I got an idea. I will bet you guys my next paycheck that at least one of them hasn't had a shower yet. Which means they're in the same shape that they were in, if they did what I think they did, as they were when they fell asleep last night. Peppy, your nose is better than ours, you can tell if they smell like... you know what I'm talking about."

Peppy shrugged. "I have to admit, what Slippy said really points in that direction. No doubt about it. But what of it, hmm? What if Fox and Krystal have been intimate? It's really none of our business."

Falco shook his head. "No, no, it _is _our business! You know why? Because it means that Fox is distracted! If some situation comes up on a job where Krystal is in danger, he's going to risk everything to get her out of it. That means he's going to be blinded by the feelings he has for her. More so than if they'd just been causal hold-hands, peck on the cheek kind of friends. And what happens in a life-or-death thing we come up against, and Fox looses his concentration! I'm a pilot, Peppy. And I know that if he gets distracted, it could mean his end, as well as our own!"

Peppy shook his head. "He would do the same for any of us."

Falco scoffed. "Oh come on, Peppy! Seriously! Who are you going to feel more inclined to save, close friend, or lover who's carrying your kid!"

Peppy did not like that comment. "Now you listen here, Falco! Friends? Fine. Relationship? Okay. Intimacy? Well, okay. Pushing it, but okay. But that's a far cry from Krystal having Fox's children!"

Falco shrugged. "Hey, accidents happen. I know. I've been there. Bleh! Ugly! I'm just asking you to consider the possibility. Hey, maybe I'm wrong. But what if I'm right? And what if Fox knows this already? Because I'm sure he does. And what if he hides it from us?"

Peppy shook his head, unable to believe Falco was saying this. "What do you mean 'if he hides it'? Of course he'll say something! If he thinks it's a risk... hmm. If he doesn't think it's a risk, because he loves her..."

Falco nodded, seeing that he was finally getting through. "He won't say a damn thing, will he?"

Peppy shook his head. "No. He won't."

Falco got up. "You know what, screw the bet. This is the team we're talking about. Hard for me to accept something is more important than I am. Well, maybe not, but this is still pretty important."

Peppy rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Fine. I'll see what I can... smell. But not a word of this to him, understand? I still don't feel right about invading their privacy like this."

Falco shook his head. "It wouldn't be invading if Fox did what he was supposed to and told us himself!"

Slippy raised his hand. "Um, guys? What exactly are you talking about?"

Peppy waved a pshaw gesture at him. "Don't worry about it, Slip. Just be like you normally are."

Slippy shrugged. "Okay."

Suddenly the door opened, and Fox and Krystal, clad in bathrobes, meandered into the room. Falco and Peppy scrutinized the two, as Slippy inadvertently covered for them.

"Hi guys!" he said cheerfully.

"Good morning, Slippy. And Falco and Peppy," Fox said, noting how the other two were eyeing he and Krystal. Falco and Peppy tried to look inconspicuous. They both noticed how much of a mess Krystal was and how she walked almost uncomfortably, rather than with her normal grace. Fox looked refreshed and perfectly comfortable. Peppy caught a whiff of Krystal and Fox as they passed to the kitchen, temporarily out of ear shot.

Peppy sighed at looked at Falco. "Oh yeah. She definitely smells... different. Fox smells like he took a shower."

Falco nodded. "Did you see how uncomfortable she looks? Fox must've gotten up before her, and took a shower. Krystal hasn't had one yet. She normally isn't that messy when she comes to breakfast. She was distracted."

Peppy nodded. "Fox is also wearing Krystal's necklace. She must have given it to him, but I don't know that that means anything significant. Then again, it could mean something important. Like their status with each other."

Falco nodded. "Yeah. I think you're right. Oh crap, here they come!"

Fox and Krystal emerged from the kitchen holding their breakfast. Fox seated Krystal, and then sat beside her. "This looks and smells great, Peppy," Fox said, still wary of how they were looking at him and Krystal. "Okay, what's up with you guys this morning?"

Falco was the first to speak up. "You tell us. Why'd you have Slippy soundproof your room?"

Fox opened his mouth and glared at Slippy. "Slippy! You _told_ them? Wait..." he sighed. "It's not your fault. It's mine. I bet that tipped you guys, didn't it? Why we're late? And why Krystal is such a mess?"

Krystal stared at him. "Hey!"

Fox patted her leg. "I didn't mean it like that."

She didn't seem satisfied with that answer, but she didn't say anything more.

Fox sighed. "You guys should have been told. It affects everyone here. I want to apologize to you guys, for... not acting like the leader this team needs. I should have... held back, until we could evaluate this together."

Krystal looked puzzled. "Fox? What are you talking about?"

Fox looked helplessly at her. "Krystal, what happened between us... really shouldn't have. My feelings for you could affect the way this team works in a bad way."

Krystal looked like she was going to cry. "Oh, no, Fox, no! You can't! Not now!"

He smiled at her. "Don't worry. I'm not going to." He looked at the others. "So I'll confirm your suspicions. Yes, we were intimate. But I don't intend to let this affect the team. I'm still in charge here, and I'm going to stay that way. But just like anything, I have to earn it. My relationship with Krystal hasn't changed how I will run this team, so you all can rest easy."

Everyone nodded. Peppy sighed. "Thank you, Fox. For coming out with this. And I'm glad you've resoled to not let it affect things, but I warn you: I have the authority to pull you from the team temporarily if I feel things are getting out of hand. I hope I don't have to do that."

Fox extended his paw across the table. "You won't." They shook on it.

Peppy grinned. "Good."

Fox hugged Krystal. She buried her muzzle in his arms. "Fox, you scared me! I thought you were going to..."

He kissed her hair. "I know." he whispered. "But you don't have to worry about that. Now, you should eat something, then get cleaned up. You looked really uncomfortable walking over here."

She nodded, and hungrily dug into her food. "Thanks, Fox. I'm starving."

The conversation for the next half-hour or so had been much lighter, more upbeat, and less suspicious. Fox had gone back to his quarters with Krystal, and she'd made a beeline for the shower. Fox got dressed, and then had gotten a call from Slippy saying that he'd finished installing the new booster into his Arwing, and that he was ready to test it. So Fox headed excitedly down to the hangar.

He got there to find his Arwing rigged to a vice-like apparatus, with some kind of collector behind the engine nozzle. "Hey, Fox! Ready to see this thing in action?"

Fox nodded. "Yeah, Slip. Go ahead."

Slippy turned on the engine remotely. The plasma stream shot out of the ship and into the collector. Slippy took Fox over to a computer terminal, which was reading the thrust. "This is cruising. And this is the current booster." He activated the booster. The graph shot up. Fox had seen these readouts before.

"Okay, so what's the upgrade look like?"

Slippy grinned. "Let's find out." He activated the crystal powered boost. The engine stream changed colors, and sparks shot out from it. Slippy studied the readout. Fox was awestruck by the display. "Wow! It sure looks cool!"

Slippy suddenly became excited again. "Holy crap, Fox! Look at these readings! They're off the chart!" He scrutinized the display again. "Not only that, but... if this thing is correct, it's running at a quarter of the temperature!" He stared into the engine stream. "Despite the huge increase in power, the temperature dropped. And if that's true, you would be able to sustain boosting for a lot longer. Four times longer, in fact! This thing works better than I ever dreamed! These crystals are really cool! I wish we could use them for other things. Weapons would probably be affected the same way. Dramatic increase in power, drop in temperature. You wouldn't have to worry about it overheating."

Fox nodded. "I promised Krystal no violent use. The engines are enough." He patted Slippy on the back. "Good work, Slip. Get these on the other Arwings. In fact... could this be adapted to Great Fox's engines?"

Slippy shook his head. "Unfortunately no. Great Fox is too big. We couldn't increase the power of her engines unless we did some major reworking of her basic structure. And that would be really expensive. Her hull just wouldn't take it. But the Arwings are small enough that this increase in power won't affect hull integrity very much."

Fox shrugged. "Yeah. Well, it was an idea. Good job, Slippy. Get this on the other Arwings as soon as you can. I'd like to be able to use them on our next mission."

"Will do, Fox." Slippy acknowledged, shutting off the Arwing's engine. Fox left the hangar in an exceptional mood. He decided to go back to his quarters and check up on Krystal.

When he got back to his quarters, he almost ran her over as she was on the other side of the door as it opened. She ended up wrapped around him, anyway. "Woah, Krystal!" he laughed. "You shouldn't miss me that much, I've only been gone 20 minutes!"

Krystal smiled and kissed him. "Sorry, love. I was going to come and look for you. What's the rush, anyway?" She grinned slyly at him, pulling him back into his room.

Fox rolled his eyes. "Krystal, you just got cleaned up."

She shrugged. "Who says too much water is bad for you? I can take another shower if I need to." She giggled.

"Actually, I wanted to tell you something. I was just in the hangar, seeing Slippy's little science experiment with your- Krystal!" he suddenly yelled at her as he felt her paw slide down his pants and brush up against his crotch. "Jeez! Does your hunger know no bounds? Cut that out! Ahh! Stop, you!" She was playing with him now. Fox was trying not to snap and succumb to her gentle touch. She kissed him, trying to excite him. Finally he let himself get sucked in, kissing her hungrily. She laid him down on the bed, and began undoing his pants. But just at that moment, ROB's voice blared in Fox's room.

"Fox, message from General Pepper. Priority One."

Fox had no time to react, as Pepper's face appeared on the terminal facing his bed.

"Fox, I have some news for you! I..." he stopped talking, as he saw what was happening on Fox's bed, but he was slow to comprehend. "Sweet mother of Creation!"

Fox scrambled up from under Krystal, pulling his pants up. "Uh, General... sorry about that, no one bothered to ask me if I was prepared to accept the transmission..." He coughed, trying to clear his utter embarrassment.

Pepper was covering his whole face with a massive paw. "I apologize myself, Fox. I didn't expect _that_ at all." He uncovered his face. "Uh, this must be the young lady you told me about yesterday." Krystal had squeezed in beside Fox.

"We apologize, General. We... um... weren't warned." She was blushing through the white fur on her face. Fox was as well, but it was harder to see on him.

The General regained his composure. "That's quite alright dear. I assure you, contrary to popular belief, I was young once myself. Once again, Fox, you have my apologies."

Fox shook his head. "I as well, General. I'm going to have a chat with our robot caretaker."

Pepper tried to get back to business. He was trying to come to grips with the fact that it would be very difficult to see Fox and Krystal in the same light ever again. "Fox, I have a... aherm, job for you." Fox saw the General was blushing as well. "There's a small space station near the Z sector that has run into some trouble with local debris. Their shields are constantly being drained, and visitors have stopped coming altogether. Much of the staff has left as well, declaring that the station is simply too dangerous to stay on board. Asteroids are causing most of the trouble. Normally this would be routine work for a military patrol squadron, but they are much too far away. The station needs the problem dealt with quickly, and they need someone to help repair their shields, and outfit them with better ones, or at least, make some modifications to better withstand future problems. Slippy may be able to help them with that, but the primary assignment is to eliminate the rocks that are in the area. There are no reported hostiles, and they're offering to pay much more than they would to a military outfit. It's not exactly a riveting job, but it's better than nothing. How about it, Fox?"

Fox thought a second. "Well, it is better than nothing. Sure. We'll do it."

Pepper looked pleased. "Good. I'm sending the data to you now. Good luck, Fox." He glanced at the two lovers for a moment. "Take care of each other. Not enough people do these days. Pepper out." The screen went dark again.

Fox thought about the look on Pepper's face as he'd said that. He seemed very understanding. Fox wondered if the same thing had happened to him once. He decided not to think about that picture too much.

He looked over at Krystal, then hugged her. "We got work. Let's get to it."

Krystal jumped up as Fox did, and followed him out of the room. "Right behind you, love. You know, I wonder why he was so understanding. I expected him to explode, or something!"

Fox shrugged as he ran down the hall. "The General is pretty strange at times. He does things I don't really understand, and things I completely understand. But one thing's for sure. I have _never_ been more embarrassed in my life! Thanks to you, the General literally caught me with my pants down!"

Krystal laughed. "And your flag up!"

Fox almost fell over. "Ah! God, don't say that! I _know!_" He pushed the event out of his mind. He tapped his portable communicator. "ROB, set a course for Sector Z. All hands, this is Fox, report to the hangar on the double. And ROB? Ask for confirmation when you send a message to my quarters from now on."

"Acknowledged," ROB's expressionless voice replied.

Fox hit Slippy's private communication signal as well. "Hey Slippy. Did you finish the upgrades?"

Slippy nodded. "Yep. All ready to go, Fox. We have a job?"

"Yeah. Pepper just called. It's a small thing, but it's better than nothing. Just clearing debris."

Slippy shrugged. "Doesn't bother me, Fox. Falco's the only one who'd complain."

Fox smiled. "Yeah, really. See you in a bit. Fox out."

By the time the team had made it down into the hangar, the ship had approached their destination. They ran through their checks quickly, reflecting how many times they'd flown together.

"Starfox team, this is Peppy. I'm reading an all clear from your systems, and the area is clear of activity. You are clear to launch."

"Roger, Peppy," Fox acknowledged. "Alright team. Let's do this. Launch on my mark. Three, two, one, mark!" The ships blasted out of the hangar, and a few whoops and yells filled the com circuit for a moment.

Peppy shook his head. "Young people, " he muttered.

_A/N: Okay, I realized I pushed the rating a bit this chapter, but at least I kept it within the bounds. Well, I guess that's debatable. So I put a little note at the beginning to cover things. Oh, and I apologize for taking so long to update. Anyway, this is the end. Yes, THE END! So don't go bugging me to write more! I might write a sequel, I don't know. I didn't intend for the story to be as long as it was. I wanted to write a SHORT story, and it turned out to be almost 50 freaking pages. That's not short. But it did get me some fans. I think. Which is what I really wanted. Just to get known. I hope to have many more stories for you in the future. Once again thank you everyone who read and reviewed. I really appreciate your support. So until next time, this is FraG, signing off._


End file.
